F LORA & FAUNA
SOUTHEASTERN BLUEBERRY BEE
Habropoda laboriosa
A solitary ground-nester that arrives just when blueberry bushes begin to flower, this bee is a specialist pollinator for rabbiteye blueberries( Vaccinium ashei). At roughly one-half inch long, it looks like a tiny fuzzy bumblebee. It uses buzz pollination to shake the heavy, sticky pollen loose from deep inside the tubular flowers. This precise and efficient method makes it an essential earlyseason visitor for native blueberry plants and one of the most important pollinators in Southeastern ecosystems.
WITCHHAZEL
Hamamelis virginiana
A deciduous shrub or small tree reaching fifteen to thirty feet, it attracts fifty-eight species of butterflies and moths and blooms between October and December. The“ witch” in its name comes from the Old English word wiche, meaning bendable. Historically, its flexible branches were used as dowsing rods to locate underground water; held in the hand, a branch would quiver and bend when passing over a hidden source. Its unusual timing and long natural history make witchhazel especially fascinating among native shrubs.
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