A bee curls up in a flower for the night, and a long-nosed bug keeps him company…

As I was walking the Little Miami Trail the other evening, a small stand of one of my favorite spring flowers, Appendaged Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum appendiculatum), caught my eye. Its papery and delicate petals of lavender were lit just right in the early evening sun, so I stopped to snap a few photos. As I trained my camera lens on the blossom, I noticed two types of bugs. I could see one was a bee curled up behind the stamens, seemingly tucked in for the night, and one was a strange-looking bug with a very long nose, scurrying around checking out every part of the flower. On closer inspection, I noticed his antenna seemed to be positioned half-way down his “nose,” which added to his cool factor. After going home and checking in my insect field guide, I learned the long-nosed beetle was some sort of snout beetle (weevil) in the family Curculionidae, and the “nose” was actually an extended part of the head that ended in a mouthpart aimed at letting the weevil bore into fruit, cotton bolls, wheat, and other vegetation.

A bee is curled up in an Appendaged Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum appendiculatum) blossom...and just above the flower, a tiny weevil is scoping out the area.

This clump of Appendaged Waterleaf was in the shadows behind the first patch I saw. I noticed the same type of bee was hanging out in the blossom, but another species of weevil was crawling around on the blossom. It was larger and darker than the little yellow-striped weevil I had just seen on the first blossom.

The warm evening sun highlighted this bee as he readied himself for the night. Male bees often do not return to the hive in the evening, spending the night in the protection of a flower blossom instead.

...let's zoom in on this furry little beast (although, if he is a male drone, he's not much of a beast because drones don't have stingers!). I love those little balls of pollen sticking to his legs...

...up pops Mr. Weevil! His super long "nose" or snout is called a rostrum (Latin for beak) and is really a downward curved extension of the head that ends in saw-like mouthparts that can bore into nuts, fruit, plants, etc. Notice how his antenna are located halfway down the rostrum (strange and cool...).

...not the greatest photo, but it does show his pattern and coloration. He's black with yellow or yellowish-green stripes and tiny dots and dents. According to my National Audubon Society's "Field Guid to Insects & Spiders," pg 612, snout beetles and weevils (family Curculionidae) are "hard-bodied beetles" that make up the largest family of insects, coming in at 40,000 species worldwide and 2,500 species in North America (now I don't feel so badly not know what species this guy is).

Appendage Waterleaf blossoms are busy places in the evening!

Most weevils are plant specific, e.g., "Acorn Weevils" feed on acorns and lay their eggs inside an acorn. The infamous "Boll Weevil" feeds on cotton bolls and lays eggs in the boll, destroying the crop.

Here is a video from National Geographic that shows an Acorn Weevil busy at work:

Appendaged Waterleaf...the Happy Mother's Day flower!

Back on May 9, 2009, I posted a letter from a young Tufted Titmouse to her Mama on Mother's Day. In her letter, she mentions "charming little lavender flowers" growing at the base of the tree she and her mate had chosen to make their home. Yesterday when I took my walk along the Little Miami, her tree was still there and so too were her lavender flowers, Appendaged Waterleaf (Hydrophyllum appendiculatum). Unfortunately, Mama and Papa Titmouse chose other lodgings this year, but I thought we could have a look at the beautiful spring wildflowers she loved...

Appendaged Waterleaf, Hydrophyllum appendiculatum, in all its lavender splendor!

...the delicate papery petals of Hydrophyllum appendiculatum are a soothing blue-lavender color and often seem to glow softly in the lush green of spring.

...did I mention Appendaged Waterleaf is quite hairy?

...each blossom is about a half-inch and forms a graceful, fluted bell. The five stamens extend from the bell. You can still see pollen clinging to the anthers of the blossom on the right.

Hydrophyllum appendiculatum's leaves are Maple leaf-like and often have white spots on them resembling water spots, which is the reason for its name, Waterleaf.

Although Mama and Papa Titmouse were absent from their tree this year, a young Squirrel Nutkin was making good use of it by climbing up and down the trunk...until he realized I was there and then took off in a frenzied terror (no doubt to the comfort of his mama) through the waterleaf patch, causing the flowers to sway gently on their long stalks as he passed through them.

Happy Mother's Day!

(especially to you, Mom!)