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Tag: cactus flowers (Page 1 of 2)

Bug of the Week: Honey Bee on Cactus Flower

March 18, 2026 / / 0 Comments

This week it seems like everything is in bloom, even the oak trees.

blue candle cactus flower yellowish white

I was impressed by the number of buds on this bilberry cactus, Myrtillocactus geometrizans (also called blue candle cactus).

honey bee on cactus flower

The honey bees have a lot of different blooms to chose from, but these cactus flowers were popular.

honey bee on yellowish white cactus flower

Sorry the photos aren’t better, I had to use my phone.

We’ve also had a bunch of pallid-winged grasshoppers. They seem to like to sit on my car for some reason.

We are expecting extreme heat this weekend (107°F!!). Hopefully it doesn’t harm the plants and insects.

How is the weather where you are?  Can you find any insects this week?

 

 

Seed of the Week: Arizona Queen of the Night

June 19, 2012 / / 0 Comments

Our mystery seeds from last week come from an Arizona plant that isn’t very noticeable most days of the year.

It looks kind of like a brownish-green twig hidden in a bush or tree.

If you observe closely, you may see the spines that indicate it is a cactus. In fact, it is a cactus called Arizona Queen of the Night, Peniocereus greggii.

Once in a great while it will produce a flower or two. Then it will be obvious why people find it so interesting.

The brilliant white flowers stay open for only one night.

This one is already starting to close as the sunlight begins to find it, although it was still producing a heavy perfume. Many of the night blooming flowers here are white and produce a strong, sweet odor that attracts moths to pollinate them.

Hopefully this flower was pollinated and produces some more mystery seeds.

More about Arizona Queen of the Night

Have you ever seen a night-blooming cactus flower?

(Thanks to our friend Deb S. for sharing.)

Mystery Seed of the Week will return next week.

Seed of the Week: Barrel Cactus

December 1, 2009 / / 2 Comments

Did anyone guess what the mystery seeds were last week?

I started you with a tricky one, because it is only found in the desert. Common names for these plants are barrel cactus and fishhook cactus. The scientific name is Ferocactus.

The name fishhook cactus comes from the fish hook shape of the spines of certain species. I have read that the American Indians of some tribes did use them for fish hooks.

It is also called the compass cactus because in natural settings the shady side grows longer and the cactus tilts to the South.

The flowers are sources of nectar and pollen for bees.

The bright yellow fruit are supposedly eaten by deer and certain rodents.

For more about the special relationship between ants and barrel cacti, see my Wild About Ants blog.

This week’s mystery seed:

The shiny, hard black seeds of the barrel cactus reminded me of the seeds of another plant in our yard. This time I’ll give you a hint. The mystery seeds this week might be easier for our Australian friends to identify.

For more about cacti see:

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