Up Next
Back to Show
Deep Look
Stop! Thief! Carpenter Bees are Notorious Nectar Robbers
Season 9
Episode 10
With their short tongues, Valley carpenter bees can’t easily drink the nectar from tubular flowers. So they use powerful mandibles to slice into the blooms and steal it. It’s called nectar robbing, since the plants don’t get the benefit of being pollinated by these enormous bees.
Support Provided By
Season
3:49
Excirolana chiltoni hang out in the wet sand at the beach and might nibble at your feet!
3:49
Green lacewings vibrate their bodies and sing to each other!
23:22
These bees are dedicated chefs! They make honey...and bread, bring you cherries, almonds and more!
5:00
These plants spend their whole life getting in just the right position.
19:31
Mosquitoes, ticks, lice, kissing bugs and tsetse flies are all looking to grab a bite ... of you.
4:32
Burying beetles haul mouse carcasses into the dirt and prep them to start a family.
3:47
Wandering salamanders can skydive in the branches of the tallest trees in the world.
4:45
The petroleum fly and their larvae thrive in the natural asphalt at the La Brea Tar Pits.
5:15
Six-rayed sea stars make great moms, caressing and protecting their babies for months!
4:12
House flies deploy a specialized organ called the ptilinum to break out of their pupa!
6:15
Stingless bees don’t have stingers. So, how do they keep honey thieves away?
5:16
After cochineals die, their legacy lives on in the brilliant red hue produced by their hemolymph!