Stinky Bob and Bee Tibias

U.K. readers will recognize this species of cranesbill as Herb Robert, among other names, and those in the U.S.A. may know it as Robert Geranium (Geranium robertianum).

Verifying its name online, I was interested to read that in my state, it's also known as stinky Bob and classified as a Class B noxious weed by the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board, which notes that Herb Robert "poses a threat to the forest understory and to plant diversity in the forests of Western Washington." Because it's highly adaptable, this plant "is found from sea level to mid-mountainous areas in both the Cascades and Olympics" mountain ranges.

My extra photo shows one of the many bees on the wild blackberry blossoms just over our back fence. I was intrigued by the color of the pollen she had collected---and how much she had!---and once again, Wikipedia had the answer. Check out the pollen color chart here! Sure enough, blackberries have light gray/grey pollen.

About the tibia reference in the title--the pollen basket (corbicula) is part of the tibia (lower leg) on the hind legs of some species of bees, used in harvesting pollen and conveying it to the nest or hive. You can read more about that here on the The Honeybee Conservancy website.

What a fascinating world my back yard/garden is!