Hey, You're Supposed to Pay For That!

It's a crime epidemic here at the Red House garden!

First it was the American Robin gang stealing all my holly berries, and now this:

Nectar robbing!

Carpenter bee robbing a daffodil of its nectar.

This Carpenter Bee has cut a hole at the base of the daffodil and is happily drinking the nectar through the hole instead of going through the main entrance.  Thus it got out of 'paying' for the nectar by carrying pollen around to other flowers in order to produce seeds.  

The hole left by the carpenter bee is then subject to secondary robbery by other petty thieves such as smaller bees and insects that also want nectar.

 

Hole in daffodil left by nectar robbery

Carpenter bees do this because their bodies are too large to fit into the daffodil and their tongues (also called proboscis) are too short to reach into the flower for the nectar.   Thus they are forced into this life of crime.

Ack, I can't reach the nectar!

Now this daffodil victim has to hope that it has enough nectar left to attract other insects that might spread its pollen. 

Wouldn't you like some nectar?  It's right past all this nice pollen..

I'm not going to turn this Carpenter Bee in for its crimes just yet though - it is possible that some nectar robbery is actually good for a flower species.  If there is less nectar available, pollinators will have to fly further and visit more flowers to drink enough nectar, which increases genetic diversity.  Of course this only works if the robbers haven't stolen all of the loot.

See, I might be doing good!  Please don't turn me in!

While some nectar robbery may possibly be good, vandalism, on the other hand, is not.  

Some robbers, often including female carpenter bees, will vandalize the area in which the robbery takes place, destroying part of the flower.  Because of this the flower might not be able to set seed, and its life might even be cut short.

 

And then, dear bee, you could be wanted for murder.