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Post by SueA on Mar 19, 2015 19:23:28 GMT
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Post by dianthus on Mar 19, 2015 20:13:48 GMT
Gosh SueA, my muscari are still green foliage, no signs of any buds yet! 
Lucky you! |
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Post by grindle on Mar 20, 2015 5:15:11 GMT
He's certainly enjoying all that pollen Sue  |
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Post by SueA on Mar 20, 2015 11:52:49 GMT
They were a Valentine's day gift in pots dianthus so were already coming out then, mine in the borders aren't out yet either. grindle. it went round each flowerhead methodically opening every tiny bud it could! |
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Post by SueA on Apr 5, 2015 18:26:20 GMT
Not a bumblebee but a tiny little tawny mining bee I think in the crocuses today.  |
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Post by peony on Apr 10, 2015 18:37:25 GMT
When I was weeding today I noticed that the ground nesting bees are excavating holes in border, the same place they used last year. I've never seen the bees, just their neat little holes with a heap of sandy soil next to each one |
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Post by Cherry on Apr 10, 2015 19:16:08 GMT
Lily, my cat, catches bumbles and plays with them until they die if I don't get there first. When one was dead today, she was trying to wake it up. Poor bumble. My neighbour has got very few bees at present, so I am not getting the honey bees yet. She will probably have a swarm if any turn up.
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Post by Cherry on Apr 11, 2015 18:19:11 GMT
I saw a Bombylius major at work today. I had to look it up. I have never seen one of these small bees and it was fascinating. It was feeding on nectar from Pieris, Muscari and Bergenia using the very long proboscis to open these small bell like flowers. Have I seen one that you haven't SueA? Probably not. Evidently it hums when it is working. |
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Post by SueA on Apr 11, 2015 19:50:57 GMT
I had to look that name up Cherry as I don't know any of the 'proper' names but when I saw it was a bee-fly I recognised it. I've never seen one in my garden but I have seen them once or twice at gardens I've visited, I think it may have been at Arley Hall in the long borders there, they are fascinating little things, they remind me a bit of hummingbird hawkmoths. |
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Post by peony on Apr 11, 2015 20:09:12 GMT
I had to look that name up Cherry as I don't know any of the 'proper' names but when I saw it was a bee-fly I recognised it. I've never seen one in my garden but I have seen them once or twice at gardens I've visited, I think it may have been at Arley Hall in the long borders there, they are fascinating little things, they remind me a bit of hummingbird hawkmoths. I've seen a few of these bee-flies in the garden recently, and looked them up on Google and it says that the when the female lays her eggs she flicks them onto the ground near the holes of ground nesting bees and when they hatch they crawl into the hole and feed off the bee grub. I suppose that's nature but I hope my ground nesting bees don't get eaten  |
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Post by SueA on Apr 11, 2015 20:20:54 GMT
It is awkward isn't it peony when both creatures are fascinating but one has to provide for the other, hopefully there will be enough of both kinds in your garden to balance things out.  |
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Post by SueA on Apr 12, 2015 19:00:01 GMT
I found a photo I took at Arley (2008 - that's amazing that I remembered I'd seen one there when I can't remember what I saw yesterday usually!  ) which I think is a type of bee fly, it's different to the one you saw Cherry but part of the same family I think.  |
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Post by Cherry on Apr 13, 2015 8:16:54 GMT
It's proboscis is hidden in the Astrantia SueA. It is great having a wildlife expert on here. You are an expert, although you would say you are not, because you follow up all your sightings and you see so much more than most people. |
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Post by SueA on Apr 13, 2015 19:40:26 GMT
Thanks Cherry but as you say I don't see myself as an expert just someone who looks closely at all the little creatures & curious enough to check everything out! |
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Post by SueA on Apr 15, 2015 19:42:01 GMT
Just before we went to bed last night a red tailed bumblebee suddenly appeared under the door in the front room, no idea where it had been hiding! I picked it up & put it outside on the logs in the logstore so it could shelter amongst them for the night. This morning it was frosty & when we opened the back door the bumblebee had woken up & was slowly staggering across the patio so I picked it up & put it on the erysimum 'Bowles Mauve' in the sun where it gripped the stalk & basked in the warmth. I went in & after a while I saw it fly up & away over the gardens so it must have just been a bit cold, hungry & groggy. |
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) which I think is a type of bee fly, it's different to the one you saw 
Sept 6, 2018 17:58:08 GMT
Sept 6, 2018 17:58:08 GMT
Aug 10, 2019 9:01:47 GMT