I truly am envious of Nightjar’s flowerbed.
Nightjar notes: Ants are not very good pollinators, but they definitely show up for the nectar buffet, as do flies. One curiosity I was told about the Stomorhina lunata is that the larvae feed on, very specifically, locust eggs!
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Acanthiophilus helianthi and an ant.
An ant. On a flower. In a picture.
Eristalis tenax a bee mimicking hover fly.
Stomorhina lunata
The pollinators are great, the flowers are even better
These are strawflowers. As happened with the zinnias, this year they are almost all pink. It’s the year of pink, it seems.
Can’t resist about the flowers: Ooh, shiny! The metallic sheen is wonderful.
Stomorhina lunata looks like it’s giving a lecture.
Giving a lecture or perhaps conducting an entire orchestra of musical bees. Who knows, but the pose is wonderful.
All of the photos are marvellous, but I’m especially caught by the first, there is something a little otherworldly or abstract in the colours, and the ant in silhouette is the best. It lends an air of mystery and perhaps a little danger (but not too much), something unexpected (but not malicious!) lurking.