I think I’m supposed to call them “tarsal claws”, but they’re going to be toes to me for now. Three at the end of each leg, which (obviously) makes for eighteen total. Never thought about that until now. Anyway, zoom in on all of her right-side toes. All in focus and you can see them at work on the petal of the hyacinth.
I’ve not really ever seen any evidence of holes on a petal (has to be really, really small – maybe someday I’ll grab a petal and magnify it until I can see the toe-holes), but…I have seen bees’ toes tear a petal that can’t support the weight of the bee. It kind of tickles me when a bee falls off a flower. Maybe it shouldn’t. They get right back to it, of course. Maybe that needs to be filed under the heading, “misery loves company”. But just knowing that these critters that I admire so much fall to earth from time to time, bounce back up, and continue on their way might be a little inspiring. And if not that, it might be that we all crash now and then. And we pop back up and fly right after we do.
