You will have to click on this photo and enlarge it to spot the bee and more precisely the little yellow sac. It's round about the centre.
Bees have little pockets on their knees where they store pollen when out foraging. He said, "When they are collecting pollen, it gets stuck to their fur because they become positively charged when flying (attracting pollen which is negative). Then they roll it up and put in their pockets to carry."
He went on to say, "That's where the term 'bees knees' comes from." A quick google confirmed that as one possible explanation, because the sacs of pollen are concentrated goodness.
I am learning so much today.
6 comments:
Fun facts!
What interesting things your son knows. And how knowledgeable that expression turns out to be. I always thought it was just a little rhyme.
Not only are you learning things, you're teaching other people.
So that's where the saying came from. How fun.
Your kidding! No, I gather you’re not. Waddayano.
Yes! It is very cool about the bees and their efficient methods to carry the nutritious pollen back to the hive. When I studied bees in graduate school (before switching from a behavior only focus to a behavior and endocrine dual focus with rodents), I spent part of a summer looking at the pollen in these bee pockets to identify the species of flowers our bees were foraging upon.
PipeTobacco
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