Sunday, September 14, 2008

The last Coca-Cola! or you never know anymore who will visit.






Went out on this Indian Summer day in September to check out the honeybee situation in my garden. Marta had pointed out the the sedums blooming in my garden where one of the last Coca-Colas available to the honeybees and that is why I had so many of them visiting. There are so many sometimes that Pamela and I become a bit wary walking by at times when activity is at peak.

I went out with my close-up lens in the hopes of getting a real good look at them and one that I could share. I was surprised to find a whole new flowering plant. On the tall side, about 4 ft. high, it was bursting out of my 'Dorothy Wycoff' andromeda which had protected it from weeding until now. (Not that it was in much danger.) It sports longish sprigs ( 8-12") of daisy-style flowers about a centimeter ( or 3/8") wide at their largest.

I'm focusing in to get a picture when I notice an unusual black, orange and white pattern on the sprig. I bring that into focus and there is another unknown creature feasting of the nectar of the newly discovered plant!

Notice in the close-ups how furry it seems. (Click on the picture to get a bigger one.) And you can definitely see the proboscis sucking up the nectar quite clearly.

So, please... any one who knows what either of these two are, let me know. And also if you know who the green iridescent fellow is feeding on and adjacent sprig.

And I did take a picture of the honeybees. I particularly like the one where it looks as if the bee has it's head buried in a field of pink posies. (Sedum 'Autumn Joy'). Marta taught me that honeybees are 'honey colored' and not as big or furry as the bumbles but still plumper than the yellow jackets. I pass this on for all you fellow bee novices.

3 comments:

kompoStella said...

hullo there -
i can't help you with the names but just wanted to compliment you on these photos. they are truly beautiful. thanks for sharing - pictures & bee knowledge!

Sarah said...

The flower looks like Symphyotrichum ericoides (http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SYER), Heath Aster or (my favorite name for it) Many-flowered Aster. I don't know about the orange and white guy but you could try sending the picture to whatsthatbug.com. The green bee is some kind of halictid bee. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halictidae) They are so cute!
Hope this helps! Great pictures!

Barbee' said...

Yolanda, I had one of those orange ones in one of my posts. I also gave a few links that you might like to collect for future identifications. If you are interested CLICK HERE. I enjoyed your post.