Honey bee in flight, strawflower
Apis mellifera
Honeybee · Brooklyn Botanic Garden · 26 July 2026
A honeybee coming in to land on a strawflower in the July border, legs already reaching for the flowerhead. Honeybees forage from hives across the city, on the rooftops and in the parks, and a botanic garden's borders are the best foraging in Brooklyn.
Landing on a strawflower takes more precision than most garden flowers allow: the stiff, papery bracts give no grip and are not petals at all, so a bee has to put down almost exactly on the soft central disc, which is where the real flowers are. The bracts are what make strawflowers last so well when dried - they are already dry on the living plant.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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