Footed Egg

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Posted by admin | Posted in Céramique | Posted on 25-01-2012

Tags: footed egg, footed egg cup collectibles, footed egg cup set, footed egg cups, footed egg cups cornish, footed egg hinged box, footed egg shaped vase, footed egg trinket box, footed egg vase

Antique 19thC Lot of 7 Porcelain Footed Egg Cups Meissen KPM German Prussia
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US $149.95

AYNSLEY china D1115 pattern SET of SIX 6 Footed EGG CUP egg cup
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US $59.97

Lot of 2 Antique Porcelain Footed Hand Painted Egg Cups Meissen KPM German
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US $59.95

Rare Vintage Red Vistosa Footed Egg Cup TST
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US $50.62

Lenox China Vintage S62 2 Single Egg Cup Gold Encrusted Footed Green Mark
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US $49.99

61 ROYAL DOULTON THE KIRKWOOD RED EGG CUPS FOOTED 3½T Hard To Find
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US $47.99

Footed+Egg

Meet the Hairy-Footed Flower Bee! by Maggie Roberts

The hairy-footed (spring) flower bee (Anthophora plumipes) also known as the plume-legged bee, appears very much like a small bumble bee, but is in fact a type of mason bee.This bee is a solitary bee as the female builds her nest and provides food for her young, unaided by others of her species.

The hairy-footed flower bee is a common early visitor in the South of Britain (but not in Scotland or Ireland) and is also extensively found in mainland Europe, where they are present in a variety of colours. They have also been recently sighted on the Eastern side of the United States. Their rapid, darting flight pattern is quite distinctive and they rarely land on a flower for very long, often just hovering by it while they extract the nectar with their characteristically long tongues which cannot be fully retracted.The sexes are very different (sexual dimorphism), the female hairy-footed flower bee is black with a fringe of yellow hairs on her back legs and the males are ginger coloured with yellow faces. They can only be seen from the start of March to late May and as such are important early spring flower pollinators.

The hairy-footed flower bee life cycle.

The adult male emerges first followed by the females about two weeks later. The males are very territorial and will guard an area of flowers that the females like to visit or a suitable nesting site, in the hope of encountering a passing female.The male aggressively patrols this patch and will chase off any intruders, whether they are a competing flower bee or not. You will see him noisily fly at full speed into any other passing insects, knocking them out of the way.

Once mated the female will begin the task of nest-building. She will typically nest in old soft stone walls, with a high sand or lime content , mortar joints, south-facing cliff faces and more rarely in the ground. Under the right conditions there can be large numbers of these bees nesting alongside each other, only then may there be damage to the structure they have chosen. The female hairy-footed flower bee`s nest usually consists of a single burrow, or a series of branching burrows each ending in one or more circular or oval chambers known as cells. A completed nest usually contains about six to twelve cells.

Before sealing the cell the female bee deposits a supply of pollen and nectar, then lays an egg on top and seals it up with soil or mortar. Male eggs are laid last and will be nearer the top of the nest as they will hatch first. Both male and females develop into fully formed adults by the end of summer, but remain over winter in their sealed cells ready to emerge in early spring.

About the Author

Maggie Roberts is a professional writer and beekeeper, with a particular passion for sharing her knowledge of bees and their role in the natural world. If you would like more information, help to start beekeeping or just to learn more about bees, then see http://www.beekeepingbeesandhoney.com