Date: 7/17/25 8:49 am From: Dan Mulhern <browndog06...> Subject: Size matters
Sitting on my front porch on an unseasonably nice morning, I was able to watch a confrontation between two aerial nectarphiles.
A honeybee and a female Ruby-throated Hummingbird were trying to feed from the same patch of Hosta blossoms. They'd skirmish in mid air and the bee got driven off. It returned several times and got the same treatment. It finally tried to compromise by visiting a different set of blossoms, but this was still too close for the hummingbird (less than 2 feet).
The bee was again thrashed about until it departed for good. The hummingbird looked around, saw that it had won, took another sip, and also left. Now I have no one to enjoy the Hostas.
Dan Mulhern Manhattan
