Yesterday I saw these two little guys on the fall-flowering clematis just as the sun was setting. They look like a type of fly, but that’s all I know. Their wings glinted gold in the slanting sun, and they went from flower to flower, apparently happy to have found something in bloom.
A pair of pollinators
You still have clematis flowering?! I’d love to know the cultivar name.
You know, I kept the little i.d. tag for ages, but I threw away a bunch of them several months ago. If I find it, I will let you know . . . this particular one has lots of blooms this year.
I have a Gravetye Beauty clematis that starts blooming in Aug. and will bloom thru fall. One year it bloomed until we had a frost in October.
My Clematis alpina has come on really well this year and is in full flower at the moment (29th April) – we live in a higher part of Edinburgh. I have seen the odd bee zooming around – what would be the usual pollinator for this species?
Rob,
I don’t know. Can you get a picture of it?
Thanks for replying, Rusty. Will try to – it has turned rather cold up here at the moment – better weather is predicted for the weekend.
Hi Rusty,
I had to wait until the North Sea air has burnt off before I had enough light to capture the pollinating insect on my Clematis alpina. How do I get the images to you? (2 x 2 MB).
Rob,
Email to rusty@honeybeesuite.com
Rob,
That is a bumble bee. I believe it’s Bombus hortorum, the garden bumble bee found throughout the UK. You should look it up online to see if your pictures match others since I’m not 100% sure. The frog is adorable, although the species escapes me!