The flight of the Bumblebee

Fiishergurl · November 21, 2014

Ok so I see a bumblebee (one single one) every day. It might not be the same one but I never see more than one at a time. So today I was watering and he showed up buzzing around me and I stopped to see where he would go. This particular bumblebee does not seem to like red tomatoes (or in this case red tomato pollen.. lol). He started on cherokee purple, then bypassed the red cherry plant after buzzing around it, then stopped at Black and Brown Boar and hit up one or two blossoms, then headed clear across the way to Daniel Burson and hit several blossoms there before heading over to Jaune Flamme which he didnt find suitable so he passed on it. He then buzzed around but passed on Stupice and then Ugly Ripe. Next he buzzed around Purple Bumblebee and Blush but I was at a bad angle and couldnt tell for sure if he stopped at those plants or not. But I beleive he did due to the amount of time that passed before he popped back into view. Next stop was Daniel Burson again (his clear favorite) and he stopped and messed with 5 or 6 blossoms before finishing up with 3 Sungold blossoms. Then he flew off. I was tempted to mark those blossoms and save seed from those to see what I would get... :-) how do you explain a possible 5-6 way cross?????? Lol.

Of course I dont know how any of this cross pollination works but my imagination had fun thinking of the possible outcomes. And strange how he preferred the dark and orange tomato pollin to the red.... ;-)

All in all I think the ones he liked the best will be at or near the top of my list too... :-)

Ginny

jmsieglaff · November 21, 2014

Bumblebees are fun to watch and they are so docile, I never feel uncomfortable around them. If you did save seeds from those blossoms and say 5 or 6 strains of pollen fertilized different ovules--each resulting seed from Pollen X + 1 Ovule = a different cross. So it wouldn't be a 5 or 6 way cross in any one seed, but the tomato may hold 5 or 6 different crosses. Each seed could in theory represent a different cross (up to the number of pollen strains introduced). You'd have no idea what is what until you grew them.

NarnianGarden · November 21, 2014

I love bumblebees. There are several buzzing about every sunny day. They never seem to be interested in tomato blossoms, but everything else - strawberry blossoms, amaranth, nasturtiums... They are always mellow and good-natured. unlike some quite decisive bees, that I see on my balcony if I have specific flower that they like...

Worth1 · November 21, 2014

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6QV1RGMLUKE
I thought this thread was about the song flight of the bumblebee.

Hermitian · November 21, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by Worth1

I thought this thread was about the song flight of the bumblebee.

YeaH! And here's one of the more amazing performances: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKGaNZwjufk

November 21, 2014	#1
Fiishergurl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Oak Hill, Florida Posts: 1,781	The flight of the Bumblebee Ok so I see a bumblebee (one single one) every day. It might not be the same one but I never see more than one at a time. So today I was watering and he showed up buzzing around me and I stopped to see where he would go. This particular bumblebee does not seem to like red tomatoes (or in this case red tomato pollen.. lol). He started on cherokee purple, then bypassed the red cherry plant after buzzing around it, then stopped at Black and Brown Boar and hit up one or two blossoms, then headed clear across the way to Daniel Burson and hit several blossoms there before heading over to Jaune Flamme which he didnt find suitable so he passed on it. He then buzzed around but passed on Stupice and then Ugly Ripe. Next he buzzed around Purple Bumblebee and Blush but I was at a bad angle and couldnt tell for sure if he stopped at those plants or not. But I beleive he did due to the amount of time that passed before he popped back into view. Next stop was Daniel Burson again (his clear favorite) and he stopped and messed with 5 or 6 blossoms before finishing up with 3 Sungold blossoms. Then he flew off. I was tempted to mark those blossoms and save seed from those to see what I would get... :-) how do you explain a possible 5-6 way cross?????? Lol. Of course I dont know how any of this cross pollination works but my imagination had fun thinking of the possible outcomes. And strange how he preferred the dark and orange tomato pollin to the red.... ;-) All in all I think the ones he liked the best will be at or near the top of my list too... :-) Ginny Last edited by Fiishergurl; November 21, 2014 at 10:21 AM.

November 21, 2014	#4
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6QV1RGMLUKE I thought this thread was about the song flight of the bumblebee. Last edited by Worth1; November 21, 2014 at 12:19 PM.

November 21, 2014	#2
jmsieglaff Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Southern WI Posts: 2,742	Bumblebees are fun to watch and they are so docile, I never feel uncomfortable around them. If you did save seeds from those blossoms and say 5 or 6 strains of pollen fertilized different ovules--each resulting seed from Pollen X + 1 Ovule = a different cross. So it wouldn't be a 5 or 6 way cross in any one seed, but the tomato may hold 5 or 6 different crosses. Each seed could in theory represent a different cross (up to the number of pollen strains introduced). You'd have no idea what is what until you grew them.

November 21, 2014	#3
NarnianGarden Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Finland, EU Posts: 2,550	I love bumblebees. There are several buzzing about every sunny day. They never seem to be interested in tomato blossoms, but everything else - strawberry blossoms, amaranth, nasturtiums... They are always mellow and good-natured. unlike some quite decisive bees, that I see on my balcony if I have specific flower that they like...