native plants drawing series 1

Today, I am starting a series of drawings of native plants in Western New York. My goal is to create a painting of native plants. These are plants that are likely to attract pollinators, especially bees and butterflies. Currently, here, the rusty patched bumblebee (bombus affinis) is on the endangered species list. That bee hasn’t been seen in New York since 1999, which is a really long time. Another bumblebee that is imperiled is the American bumblebee (bombus pensylvanicus), which has experienced a 99 percent decline in New York. Bumblebees are considered to be “buzz pollinators,” which makes them very necessary.

This is how Wikipedia describes buzz pollination: “Buzz pollination or sonication is a technique used by some bees, such as solitary bees and bumblebees, to release pollen which is more or less firmly held by the anthers.” Tomatoes and potatoes are among plants that require buzz pollination.

And now for the plant that I drew. It’s a trillium. This is a flower that blooms in early spring, generally in the woods. It looks pretty, but it produces a bad smell. The reason for the stink is because the trillium doesn’t produce nectar, which is usually the thing that attracts pollinators. Instead, it smells like dead meat, and that attracts carrion flies. They lay their eggs on the stinky trillium, and, in the process, the plant’s pollen is spread. Ants also spread trillium seeds.

You might want to plug your nose, lol.

next time: Jack in the Pulpit