Wikipedia:Today's second feature/December 11, 2005

Today's featured picture

Bee pollinating a rose

Pollination is an important step in the reproduction of seed plants: the transfer of pollen grains (male gametes) to the plant carpel, the structure that contains the ovule (female gamete). Pollination by insects, or entomophily, is a common pollination strategy. Here a wild Melissodes bee crawls among the stamens of a rose collecting pollen on its hindlegs. The female reproductive organ of the rose (the pistil) can be seen as the globular rough surfaced structure to the left of the bee; it is surrounded by dozens of pollen-bearing stamens.

Photo credit: Debivort