In an obvious case of entrapment 🙂 the lady’s slipper labellum sac is colorful and has an inviting opening for a bee to enter. But that opening only allows entrance and the bee then has to escape by flying up through the top, striking the stigma to deposit pollen and then out past the anthers, collecting more pollen and escaping to pollinate the next flower.
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Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
The law enforcement officers will be on the case. Aiding and abee-ting?
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Twisting the Eagles tune…”You can check in any time you wish, but you must take some pollen when you leave”.
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“Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there bee that find it.”
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Well that threw me, but I’ve never read much of the bible, and remember even less of what I did, so that would account for it.
I Googled to find it and now, of course, the next time someone Googles it my blog will show up with my damning statement.
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That quotation (with the one-letter change from be to bee) seemed to fit the elaborate pollination mechanism you described for the lady’s slipper.
I just searched for the quotation (with the original spelling of be), and you’ll be relieved to hear that your blog didn’t turn up, or if it did it’s way down the list of hits.
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I would bet it will end up there but way way way down the list. It is too recent to show up anywhere else.
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Very clever that Lady’s Slipper. We need more bees. Are there many in your area and do you have a source for local honey?
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We do have local beekeepers who sell honey both in small venues like farm stands as well as from stands in front of their homes. But the bee population is suffering here as well.
It does appear that at least a good portion of the problem is Neonicotinoids which are sprayed on nursery plants by a lot of growers to kill pest insects. As so often is the case, it is a large brush being applied for a small problem and has spread beyond the mite and other sucking insects that attack ornamentals. There have been protests against the big boxes like Home Depot and Lowes which has led to a decrease in use or, at the very least, labeling. The more the usage is reduced the better for the bees.
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Neonicotinoids are by far the biggest problem. Our government needs to pass some legislation before it is too late for the bees, butterflies and many more pollinators. But they are in bed with the chemical companies and want to remain in office .Lobbying needs to be illegal. Maybe better education of the public about the consequences of herbicide and pesticide use will help but not completely. Co-op farming with GMO plants is causing a huge problem.
I think our country and the entire world is in dire straits and no leader is willing to step forward and do anything to stem the tide of destruction. I am a dooms day worrier and wonder what the planet will be like in a mere ten years.
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I agree, Yvonne. The situation now, with moneyed interests calling all the shots and common folks sitting back, is quite serious and by the time people speak up on a large enough scale to reverse the trends we are SOL. Even the occasional victory, as getting Lowe’s and Home Depot to adjust their policy regarding the pesticides, are small and short lived. I half expect DDT to make a comeback…some yo-yo “scientist” will “discover” some proof that it was misjudged and unfairly banned. Yeeesh.
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Lady slippers are amazing Steve great shot !!
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Thanks, Bernie.
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Isn’t it amazing how this all works? I think something with a couple of dozen moving parts is pretty impressive. I wonder how many interrelationships there are in nature? We really ought to stop mucking around with some of this, lest we find out just how dispensable we are. 🙂
This photo of the lady’s slipper looks like a doll. If we’d had these when I was growing up, I wouldn’t have had to work so hard to make dolls out of hollyhocks.
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The machinations of nature and the interrelationships that make it all work are simply amazing. Amongst all the many organisms that work together to keep things running smoothly, we are the only one on the planet whose disappearance would not slow things down and most likely the lack of homo sapiens might be a plus. I kinda like it here, but we are doing so much harm to Eden.
I had never seen them as dolls but do like the comparison, although I would not want to encourage picking them as, in the case of Lady’s Slippers, it can have a long term effect on future flowering.
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