Buzz Pollination from Humble by Mark Ferguson

Solitary bees are often encountered alongside bumblebees, and some are capable of buzz pollination (see also track 11). This behaviour involves the contraction of flight muscles at high frequencies (much higher than for normal flight) when positioned inside a flower; the resulting vibrations are focused through the bee’s mandibles and legs onto the flower’s anthers, which release tightly packed pollen through sympathetic resonance.

Here, a Hairy-footed Flower Bee provides an excellent example of the whole process as she forages through a dense patch of comfrey.

Species: Anthophora plumipes

Recorded 22 April 2018 at 09:00. Painswick, Gloucestershire. 13˚C; cloudy, light-to-moderate winds.

Mark Ferguson is a wildlife sound recordist. His work draws attention to the sonic nuances of animal behaviour and the fascinating audible relationships between humans, wild species and their shared environments. He is currently based in Northern Ireland, where he spends most of his time documenting the habitats and hidden stories of his native Ulster countryside.

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