Honey bee with full pollen sacs on hind legs
Flying insects on the search for available pollen and nectar are pretty fickle. If there's a chance of a good meal, they'll generally take it, whether they 'recognise' a flower or not.
This week's 'must have' on Plants for Bugs is definitely Euryops tysonii, a robust shrubby plant from South Africa. It bears butter yellow daisy-like flowers and at the moment is in full flower looking like a great beacon of light. On a sunny day is it a mass of competing insect visitors.
The top photo shows a honey bee who may well be garnering nectar but the most obvious load is the full pollen baskets its carrying on its back legs. Below are just two of the different hoverfly species I spotted. What a star plant for late-season nectar and pollen!
