There are 250 species of bees in the Northern Hemisphere. This one with its black body and yellow stripes is the American bumblebee. The anthophila has a long, hairy tongue. They use this proboscis to lap at the pollen and nectar in a flower such as this yellow arrowleaf balsamroot. The insect then stores their harvest in pollen baskets located on their back legs. As the bee flies, they create an electrostatic charge which holds the pollen on their legs. Then it is released onto the well-grounded stigma of the next flower. This process creates the beautiful wildflowers around Teton Village in Wyoming.
