My first @peertube video!

A short recording in slow-motion of the activity of a nesting aggregation of ground-nesting bees, Colletes thoracicus, the Rufous-backed Cellophane Bee, along my driveway at the end of April 2024. I have been monitoring and observing this population since 2008.

#Bees #Nature #Habitat #Pollinators

@xris@lone.earth - Rufous-backed Cellophane Bees (Colletes thoracicus) nesting aggregation (Slow Motion)

https://lone.earth/videos/watch/ab7b783a-b212-4135-9d33-0558f1f53cb4

@darwin

Bee on Grape Hyacinth #bees #pollinators #wildlifephotography #wildlifegarden #nature #naturephotography #macro #macrophotography #flowers #wildlifegarden #perthshire #Scotland

Late?
Not in Vegas baby.
Not in Vegas.

#theBeeAt3
Basic bee facts every day at 3pm.

# 71

# 70 contd.

Carrying heavy pollen loads on the legs makes #bumblebee flight more stable in windy conditions; but in calm weather bees with nectar-full honey stomachs are more nimble than those carrying pollen loads.
#bees
#nature
#pollinators
#sanctuary
#wildflowers

Aralia spinosa, devil’s walking stick

Please don’t flame me for growing this plant. The #pollinators love it and the leaves taste nice (slightly minty asafoetida).

Bark, roots and unripe berries can cause contact dermatitis and/or allergies. Ripe berries are mildly toxic in large quantities besides not tasting very good.

#SilentSunday
#Allotment #permaculture #pollinators

Honey bees on the hazel catkins.

https://theconversation.com/butterflies-declined-by-22-in-just-2-decades-across-the-us-there-are-ways-you-can-help-save-them-251468

This is really bleak. Know I’m just singing back to the choir here but what are you guys planting for the pollinators this year?

This one is new for me, sneezeweed, Helenium amarum. They’ve already sprouted in their outdoor cold-strat containers.

Also transplanted year old loebelia siphilitica seedlings to the ground yesterday.

First pollinator this year!

Little hungry bee
takes off on its first flight
in search of nectar

#DailyHaikuPrompt - bloom
#Haiku #SmallPoems #Pollinators #Spring

"This work didn’t identify exact causes for the declines, although scientists have been clear that habitat loss, pesticide use and the climate crisis are the main culprits for insect losses, with other problems such as light pollution affecting #fireflies and #moths in particular."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/06/declining-butterfly-populations

Your annual reminder that many seed packages of "wildflowers" are not, in fact, wildflowers. Of the species included in these ones there's maybe 2 that are native to this area (and those 2 are domesticated varieties).

I'm convinced seed companies sweep up whatever spills on the factory floor and call it a wildflower mix.

Please support your local suppliers of actual wildflowers native to your area. Pollinators will thank you!
#wildflowers #gardening #pollinators

Well, that was timely. I got all salty that the peeps who I've been telling to keep their hands off my tiny pollinator square wouldn't and kept killing my stuff (mowing my "weeds", throwing heavy equipment on the garden bed), and this bee balm (rip) was really popular. But, I get some money tomorrow, and I found a list of black owned seed companies the other day, and I've found non-Amazon sourced Wild Bergamot :).

#pollinators #bloomscrolling #gardening

https://www.urbangardenplants.com/wild-bergamot-seeds

Green sweat bee on echinacea. I get to clean out the bug pics today :)
#bloomscrolling #Pollinators

Someone in the area must have crocuses on the south side of their house because there aren't any sprouted up here. Also a still of the other bee on the snowdrops.

#WeevilWednesday

"Weevils, long-nosed beetles, are unsung heroes of pollination"

"A special kind of intertwined plant-pollinator relationship, thought to be rare, is present in hundreds of weevil species"

“We are highlighting a group of insects that most people want to see killed, and we're showing that they can actually be pretty important for maintaining ecosystems and products that we care about,”

https://www.fieldmuseum.org/about/press/weevils-long-nosed-beetles-are-unsung-heroes-of-pollination

Trees For Life
Our vision is of a revitalised wild forest in the Highlands of Scotland, providing space for wildlife to flourish and communities to thrive.
https://treesforlife.org.uk/
#Scotland #Trees #SolarPunkSunday #SolarPunk #ReforestingScotland #TreesForLife #ReForesting #CommunityBuilding #ReWilding #Pollinators

There was a real sense of spring in the air today and it was very welcome.

The crocus were basking in some sun, I spotted bees and even a butterfly, and the birds were singing out.

So lucky to have garden in which to escape the world and the current madness.
#bees #gardens #gardening #pollinators #signsofspring #cotswolds