Pollinator Perfect

A Ruby tail wasp Saturday's seen on the @Buzz_dont_tweet workshop walk led by @WillLeoHawkes - another new species for me and a tick on my bucket list. #wasp #conservation #cornwall

Male Spiny-legged Mason Wasp (Odynerus spinipes ) spotted on Saturday's @Buzz_dont_tweet workshop walk led by @hillwalkswithwillhawkes - a new species for me. #wasp #cornwall #roseland

New to solitary bees during the summer 0f 2015 I constantly was sending photos of various bees I hoped were Long horned mining bee to @iancbeavis without success. Thanks to @WillLeoHawkes leading a @Buzz_dont_tweet workshop yesterday I found my first male - EUREKA!!!

A Swallowtail caught mid-flight between two Sweet Rocket plants, Strumpshaw Fen, 20/5. This was my very last shot of the day! @RSPBStrumpshaw @BC_Norfolk @savebutterflies @BBCSpringwatch

This summer, we're asking nature lovers & mountaineers exploring the unique landscapes of the Cairngorms National Park to keep an eye out for the Blaeberry bumblebee & report their sightings via iRecord 📲 More: ow.ly/TFcW50VPkBF #Mountaineering #Science @buzzingscotland

I've been enjoying photographing invertebrate visitors to our garden Beech hedge. Here's a selection from the last couple of weeks. #Staffs #garden #biodiversity #pollinators

Small wasp on Mexican fleabane (Erigeron karvinskianus). When I first saw these flowers growing in many walls in Cornwall I thought they were daises.

@_Entomophily @iancbeavis @RoyEntSoc The 1996 New Naturalist volume is very, very out of date now! I'd like to think my 2021 book is more up to date :-) But the most recent review of ant pollination is this one - not well written, but a comprehensive account: frontiersin.org/journals/insec…

The solitary mining bee Andrena bucephala is unusual as it nests have communal entrances. In this clip two different bees return to the same well hidden entrance. These nests are also perennial and this one in Falmouth's Victorian cemetery is likely to be at least nine years old

They feed the bees and then the birds; some lucky seed goes on to produce the next generation #Dandelions @DandelionAppre1

@iancbeavis @JeffOllerton @RoyEntSoc Thank you Ian that is fascinating, I have ordered the book.

@_Entomophily @JeffOllerton @RoyEntSoc Some ant species do visit flowers regularly to forage, but the consensus is they dont act as pollinators, except in a very few specialised instances. This is what the 2nd (1996) edition of the New Naturalist monograph on pollination says

Are ants pollinators or simply flower visitors? @JeffOllerton @iancbeavis @RoyEntSoc #ants #pollinators

@StevenFalk1 @godsacre @DaveGoulson Sadly no sign of Nomada guttulata in our cemetery but we do have the rare N hirtipes. @UkFalmouth manages the older parts of the cemetery to benefit its wildlife.

@_Entomophily @godsacre @DaveGoulson Brilliantly captured. We get it in my local Kenilworth churchyard together with it’s scarce cuckoo Nomada guttulata. Shows the value if these flowery urban habitats when managed sensitively for wildlife.

A Red-girdled mining bee (Andrena labiata) visiting a patch of Speedwell in Falmouth's Victorian cemetery. @StevenFalk1 @godsacre @DaveGoulson #bees #solitarybee #wildlife

Another composite of insects visiting Beech leaves in our garden hedgerow. Features some new additions to this year's "Beech List"! #Staffs #biodiversity #pollination

Impressive preparation in West Dunbartonshire. 85ha of grassland is now under cut-and-lift management to reduce nutrients. Many sites have spring bulbs, wildflower meadows / strips, and tree planting incorporated. Now the survey work is in full swing.

Agapostemon bees are great for getting people interested in native bees for obvious reasons. Not only are they striking but they make sure to get themselves on perfectly contrasting background as well. Perfect drama, no notes. [A. subtilior, Alameda, CA 4-26-25] #bees #nativebees

Tremendous time at the wondrous Wyre Forest yesterday in the convivial company of @NuneatonBirder and @CentralBirder. Plenty of Pearl-bordered Fritillary enjoying the warm spring sunshine along the old track bed. @WorcsWT @worcswildlife @BC_WestMids @savebutterflies

Unveiling the secrets of #SouthAmerican #Darwin #wasps, part I: a comprehensive #checklist of the #Chilean #Ichneumonidae (#Hymenoptera: #Ichneumonoidea) #taxonomy doi.org/10.11646/zoota…

I am moving my account to Blue Sky link in my profile, link in profile. I will leave you with a small furrow bee on a ivy-leaved toadflax. #bees #pollinators #pollinatiom