Trigona stingless bee.

Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Trigona stingless bees rob nectar from a bird of paradise flower. Note the holes the bees have chewed in the petals, allowing them to take nectar without gathering pollen.

Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Flowers make nectar to attract competent pollinators, but  the strategy falls short when nectar thieves cut into the flowers and bypass the pollen. Here, a Trigona stingless bee robs nectar from a bird of paradise flower.

Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil
Raspberry flowers provide nectar to attract flighted pollinators like bees and flies, but ants sometimes sneak in to steal the bounty. (Nylanderia bourbonica)

Orlando, Florida, USA
Raspberry flowers provide nectar to attract flighted pollinators like bees and flies, but ants sometimes sneak in to steal the bounty. (Nylanderia bourbonica)

Orlando, Florida, USA
Crematogaster acrobat ant workers taking nectar from a lily. 

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia
Crematogaster acrobat ant workers taking nectar from a lily. Ants are generally poor pollinators, so they are not the intended recipient of the nectar.

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia
Crematogaster acrobat ant workers taking nectar from a lily. 

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia
Crematogaster acrobat ant workers taking nectar from a lily.

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia
Crematogaster acrobat ant workers taking nectar from a lily. 

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia
Crematogaster acrobat ant workers taking nectar from a lily.

Cape Tribulation, Queensland, Australia
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all images and text © Alex Wild 2001-2013