I missed capturing the latest cereus cactus flower’s nocturnal opening Tuesday night, but yesterday morning I set up my cam before the bloom at 6:40 a.m. and timelapsed the following two sunrise hours of it slowly — almost imperceptibly — closing up shop.
There are certainly lulls in the activity, but it’s fascinating (to me, at least) not only how the bees frolickingly interact with the blossom but also as the opening gets progressively smaller how they seem almost hyper-aware that their time with the flower is fleeting.
There’s a jumping spider who hangs out on the edge of the petals at one point, and keep an eye out near the middle for the big carpenter bee — especially nearer the end when it barrels its way inside through the almost-closed petals for one last round.
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