The #coltsfoot is out! It lives in the sandy areas alongside our road. I was so startled when we first moved here - what were these #dandelions doing out so early??

But they aren’t dandelions. The flowers do look different if you examine them closely, as do the stems that hold them up. Plus, the leaves don’t even make an appearance until the weather has warmed up, and those don’t look anything like dandelion leaves at all.

Does anyone know which #pollinators come to these? Our vernal miner bees aren’t even out yet, as far as I can tell.

keadamander (@keadamander@pixelfed.social)

https://pixelfed.social/p/keadamander/813094188682793901

> Pollinator at Work #photography #helios #helios44 #helios44m #macrobee #pollinators #beeonflower #naturemacro #insectphotography #yellowbloom #beecloseup #flowerandbee #macro_perfection #wildlifephotography #gardeninsects #buzzingbeauty #springpollinators #natureintimate #beesofinstagram

Video of a female mason bee (Osmia sp.) backing out of a tunnel at my insect hotel. This is the observation wing (pulls out and has plexiglas cover) so I'd be delighted if she chose to nest there. #BeeHotel #InsectHotel #bees #insects #pollinators #osmia

@BathNature

At first I thought this the same as yours but this visitor to my garden is more unusual.

This is (unsurprisingly!) a Dotted Bee-fly (Bombylius discolor).

The range is limited but I am in the middle of it.

My persistence paid off. Lots of failures but here a success.

This is another Hairy-footed Flower Bee.

In bee news, male Osmia are showing up at the insect hotel in my back yard (Swarthmore, PA, USA). The females never choose to use these tunnels, sadly, opting instead for the smaller, paper-lined cavities in the wood blocks. #InsectHotel #BeeHotel #MasonBees #bees #nature #pollinators #insects

The sunny side of the cherry tree overhangs the street, so I am struggling. Lots of blurred images.

This rear view of a Hairy-footed Flower Bee is decently detailed.

There are lots of them and the fact that they are so noisy gives the tree a very June-like buzz.

important #Trees species that feed early insects #Pollinators #nature
#Bloomscrolling #DutchTrees #EUTrees

Taking a break from working on the allotment and Hackney Marshes this afternoon: Cherry blossom and pollinators of Springfield Park in Hackney

https://ecoevo.social/@ReNatureLdn/114176486522528272

#Spring
#Sakura
#pollinators
#HackneyWildlife
#SpringfieldPark
#Hackney

Sunday March 30th. Cherry blossom and pollinators of Springfield Park in Hackney

https://ecoevo.social/@ReNatureLdn/114176486522528272

#Spring
#Sakura
#pollinators
#HackneyWildlife
#SpringfieldPark
#Hackney

Photos 1/7

Every year there is a single day, and this year it was today, when a tree in the backyard explodes into bloom and local honeybees absolutely engulf it in a frenzy of buzzing.

#Xylocopa californica or #BlackCarpenterBee emerging from a now deceased #FigTree. We probably have too many as they are very destructive, but the tree is being regrown from the roots, so eventually it will be ok again.
#CaliforniaPollinators
#Pollinators
#CarpenterBee

I gave up on fixed focus. The pollinators are much too mobile.

Continuous autofocus is hugely better but very reliant on luck.

Focus is not great here but at least you can see a Hairy-footed Flower Bee (Anthophora plumipes).