Random and miscellaneous pollinator photos

[Growing Coastal]

Nice black butterfly! You have so many more types than we do.
That pink salvia grew easily from seed for me this year. I chose it as an extra to reach a dollar amount on a seed order. Should be easy to save seeds from it.

[SpookyShoe]

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For several years this was an herb garden. But last year we had the canopy raised on the live oak trees and this plot now gets blazing afternoon sun. A lot of herbs simply cannot take the summer sun and heat. Plus the soil was poor and compacted and needed to be turned over. So I ripped out all of the half dead plants and decided to plant a pollinator garden.

I bought the plants yesterday and amended the soil. This morning I put the new plants in and mulched. There are coneflowers, yarrow, gomphrena, and pentas. Things will look a lot nicer when the plants start growing together a bit. Anyway, the bees are already on the yarrow.

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[bower]

Those coneflowers are luscious!

[SpookyShoe]

Yellow Jacket wasp on ginger.

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A bee with his booty hanging out of a ruellia blossom.

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[Growing Coastal]

The wasps are good bug hunters though it may be seeking nectar on that ginger. They scan my broccoli for cabbage butterfly caterpillars and I'm glad they do!

[SpookyShoe]

Bells of Fire Esperanza.

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[Rockoe10]

A couple days ago, the Sacred Datura flowers each had between 2 and 5 honey bees in them each. And there was around two dozen flowers. The sound of the buzzing was deafening!

Each time I would get close for a picture, the bees would start flying away. This was the best picture I could get. I wish I could have gotten a clear picture with all them packed in the flower. It was hilariously fascinating.

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[SpookyShoe]

A bee on tropical milkweed, host plant for the Monarch butterfly.

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[Growing Coastal]

Gorgeous colours.

[SpookyShoe]

I went to the plant nursery this morning looking for basils (I'm doing a grow bag of basils) and also bought a couple of cupheas. The nursery bees seem to be enjoying the lavish floral displays after a winter where flowers for pollinators aren't so plentiful.

Scabiosa and two salvias.

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[Growing Coastal]

I've seen hummingbirds enjoy Scabiosa as well as bees.

[SpookyShoe]

The bees were all over the David Verity and Honey Bells cupheas this morning at the plant nursery. Of course, these plants are also well known as hummingbird favorites.

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[karstopography]

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Sometimes, I actually start to comprehend some important points. One thing I’ve come to learn and appreciate more than ever is the Carpenter Bee. What I have observed is that if I include some dry and tan dead bamboo stakes in my garden, Carpenter Bees will set up a home. I’ve also observed these bees visiting most of the flowers in the garden with great avidity. They have been the most reliable pollinators I have. Honey bees are fickle creatures and go to wherever the big payoff is at the time. This time of year when I need them most, those bees are on Yaupon or Basswood, or Clover, or anything more delicious than my garden blooms. Bumble bees are great when the show, but they rarely make an appearance until later in the year. Carpenter bees, thank you for your service. I promise to set up dry bamboo and maintain it for as long as you wish to have it for a home.

[MissS]

The bees were all over the David Verity and Honey Bells cupheas this morning at the plant nursery. Of course, these plants are also well known as hummingbird favorites.

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I notice that your bees also cut holes in the sides of your Cuphea to gain access to the nectar. The wasps here do that too but destroy the whole blossom when they cut the flower. It aggravates me.

[karstopography]

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A Carpenter Bee making a new home in a bamboo support pole for the Lima Beans. One set of photos is about 30 minutes later than the first set when the Carpenter Bee began its excavation of the bamboo.

[SpookyShoe]

Bees on African Blue basil and Summer Jewel pink salvia.

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Giant Swallowtail on Blue Plumbago.

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Red Dragonfly.

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Bee on Echinacea.

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[pepperhead212]

Here's a pollinator I have hundreds of on that parsley plant, now that the tiny blossoms are starting to open. Anyone know what these are? These are magnified some - you can figure out by the size of the parsley blossoms. I took over a dozen photos, but only 2 were ok - it was windy, and every time I'd take one, it would move! None of the photos with many on a cluster came out.
Miniature pollinators on parsley blossoms. 6-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Another parsley pollinator, 6-4 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

[bower]

Bug or beetle? Need a picture of the beastie's face, the insect butt is not distinctive.

[SpookyShoe]

Some kind of Harlequin bug?

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[bower]

Varied Carpet Beetle?
https://www.whatsthatbug.com/2012/04/10 ... n-parsley/