Did you know there’s a cactus native to sandplains of eastern North America? 1/n
It’s the eastern prickly pear (Opuntia humifusa) and it’s blooming right now!
Bees love it for the large volumes of sweet nectar it produces.
Although bees are good pollinators, the prickly pear has a mechanism to ensure that the bee departs with pollen. Upon contact, the anthers curl around the bee. Take a look. These anthers are thigmonastic, or touch-sensitive.
Unfortunately, Eastern prickly pear is endangered in Massachusetts because its sandplain habitat is threatened. Suppression of wildfires, mainly. Work by @MassAudubon at #mywellfleetbay has led to ideal, open conditions for a small population of this cactus to thrive.
You can follow @bee_searcher.
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