Nectar Is Sweet Stuff

We took a mini-trip over a local, seldom traveled gravel road in rural Az just for the helluvit. The road takes you into whatever still exists of undeveloped acres in rural Arizona. . . hills, scrub grassland, grease wood, brittle bush, and solitude. Just a dusty road and endless views.  

It's the type of environment that suggests you should change your auto air filter at the next opportunity.

These bees ain't Odysseus responding to the Sirens call and facing destruction.   In fact, there doesn't seem to be a risk to their activity.  They want nectar.

Bees of all kinds were having a play-day among the anthers and filaments of the flowers.

Going head-down for nectar, a bee actively stirs the anthers.  It's premature...the flower hasn't matured sufficiently for pollen to have been produced.  Usually you can see the grains spread around the petals.  But, the nectar is there and the bee wants it. 

Mellifera ligustica has a long proboscis (tongue) which extends to draw up nectar and water.

Belly down in stuff , a bee takes the hard way to its goal.

We often don't see the "little ones" that make life possible.  Our life is crowded with irrelevances.

After a long day of activity the cycle will begin again.  Probably tomorrow...flowers fertilized...bees happy...life continued...our auto air filter not replaced.  Life is perpetuated by small things.
  

However, the irony may escape our view.  Some bastard will use a fly swatter and an innocent perpetuator of life will bite the same dust that clogs my auto air filter.