Flower and Butterfly 25-Cent Coin in Colour

Seeing a bumblebee, nature's canny cultivator, is one of summer's iconic moments—a buzzing black-and-yellow fuzzball plodding heavily from delicate bloom to delicate bloom. A subgroup of the roughly 730 described species of bees in Canada, bumblebees are native to the Americas as well as Europe, Asia and North Africa, and are important pollinators crucial to the ongoing survival of many flowering plants.

Bumblebees in particular engage in a practice known as "buzz pollination," where, clutching a flower's stamen with their jaws, they rapidly vibrate their wing muscles, loosening and scattering pollen. Bumblebees are among the most resilient types of bees and prefer temperate climates. Because they are generalists, gathering nectar and pollen from a wide variety of flowers (up to 20 flowers per minute), it is somewhat easier for them to survive environmental changes. Nevertheless, like many bees, they are threatened by factors such as habitat loss, parasites and pathogens. Luckily, anyone can help to support and attract bumblebees and other bee populations by planting a variety of native flowering plants.

A Perfect Match: the Bumblebee and the Aster
The North American species of aster (reclassified in the 1990s to other genera, but still commonly known as asters) are flowering perennial herbs usually bearing striking blue, mauve, pink or white flowers. These lovely plants share an important symbiosis with bumblebees: the bees are one of the asters' key pollinators and for many bumblebees, asters are a major food source. Asters are also easy to grow and thus a great choice for Canadian gardeners.

Includes:
• Flower and Butterfly 25-Cent Coin in Colour

Warranty Information:
This product comes with a 30-day warranty through TSC.