Insects Sleeping in My Gentian Flower

Gentian Blooming Habits

• Gentians form flower buds, but these buds stay tightly closed much of the time. They wait until the most gorgeous, sun-shining day to unfurl. Even then, getting to the pollen and nectar is quite a chore for any insect. And when the bud isn't even open, there are few signs that there's even any available pollen or nectar to seek out.

Insect Pollinators

• Bumble bees are the primary pollinator for gentians. They are strong enough to pry the petals apart and force their way inside, whether the gentian is open or not. Once inside, if temperatures drop suddenly, or if the bee needs to groom or repack its pollen, it may appear to be resting or sleeping. Likewise, beetles such as black blister beetles may force their way inside, gorge on pollen, then rest in the enclosed area safe from predators.

Detrimental Insects

• The alcon blue butterfly works its way between the petals of the gentian flower very shortly after the egg hatches. It then feeds on the inside of the flower as a larvae before a very particular species of ant, the Myrmica schkencki, carries it off to rear it as it would its own. As the ants feed and rest in the closed gentian flower, a sudden warm, sunny day might lead to an open gentian bloom and a full view of a gorging or sleeping larvae inside.

Considerations

• Ants and other insects may end up on the inside of gentian flowers seeking the same nectar rewards as others in the insect kingdom. However, few are so tightly related to gentians alone as the bumble bee, the black blister beetle and the alcon blue butterfly, who do not need to wait for that perfect clear-sky warm day for access to the inside of the gentian flower.