Pollinators

I took advantage of a bright and still morning to watch the comings and goings on a patch of asters. These gaudy flowers were obviously a hit with #pollinators, within a few minutes I observed visits from bees, hoverflies and wasps and a small copper butterfly. In total, I saw five different species of #hoverfly on the plot, from the tiny to the large, plus honey bees. bumble bees and others showing the great diversity amongst our pollinators. Pollinators are easily attracted to the plot by growing a few flowers, from the first phacelia in March to asters and others in autumn. And if you scroll to the bottom of the photos you will see a bumble bee leaving a squash flower, absolutely covered with pollen emphasizing the importance of its role. In fact, this flower was in much demand and there were three bumbles jostling over it as I approached!  Hoverfly id is not my forte, so if you have any suggestions let me know!

Asters with pollinators
Hoverfly (Myathropa?) and sneeky crab spider
Another hoverfly – may be the rat-tailed hoverfly Eristalis pertinax?
Yet another hoverfly – may be Sericomyia lappona?
Different angle
And finally a wasp
A bumble bee heavily laden with pollen showing  how cross pollination is achieved