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In these images in Las Fotos de los Lectores de La Vanguardia, the common denominator is the pollination of sunflowers by bees with their eyes set on the sky.
The photographs of the bees were taken in Els Hostalets d'en Bas, in this part of the Garrotxa region where sunflowers are commonly planted.
As can be seen in the snapshots, it is an area of Catalonia of great beauty, to which the fields add color in summer.
Pollination is the process of transferring pollen from the stamens to the stigma or receptive part of the flowers in angiosperms, where it germinates and fertilizes the ovules of the flower, making possible the production of seeds and fruits.
The transport of pollen can be carried out by different agents that are called "pollination vectors", among which bees stand out, as in this case of sunflowers.
These summer days, the yellow fields with contrasting colors stand out in the landscape of Vall d'en Bas, which is also surrounded by mountain ranges and rugged ridges such as those of Cabrera dels Llancers, Freixaneda or Puigsacalm, as well as meadows and forests of beech, holm and oak trees.
The sunflower is an undemanding crop in terms of soil type, although it prefers clay-sandy soils rich in organic matter, but it is essential that the soil have good drainage and the water table is shallow.
The planting season for rainfed crops varies according to latitude, but lasts approximately one month from the beginning of summer.
