Summer Means Flowers and That Means Pollinators Galore

There is so much activity in July that it can be too much.  So, this month I am mostly following the flower blooms which are a bonanza for so many pollinators. Let's begin with the test garden at the entrance to the Cornell Botanic Garden's Nevin Welcome Center. I stopped to admire the echinacea flowers, aka cone flowers.  As expected, a Bumblebee was busy on a pristine flower.  (In our current drought, finding an undamaged bloom is notable.) As is normal for me, my eyes wandered and settled on a candidate speciment nearby.  The label read: Proven Accents Purple Queen, Tradescantia.  The purple leaves hosted a small purplish flower.  The small bee on the flower made a perfect image.  Love it!

Continuing my tour at the adjacent Herb Garden, the lavender is sure to host many bees.  In this case, a honeybee rapidly cycles between open flowers with amazing speed.   It's challenging to quickly focus before it moves again.

The adjacent arboretum at the botanic gardens expands the options.   On the upper loop road, I found a nice stand of cone flowers with another pollinator,  the Aphrodite Butterfly. It's in the Fritillary group.

Nearby, I searched to see if the Buttonwood tree was in bloom.  It is a type of sycamore that had fine grain suitable for, you guessed it, making wooden buttons.  It's spherical flower has always attracted me.   Here, another bumblebee is busy on the flower.

I am also fortunate to have plants around my home that are popular with summer pollinators.  Foremost on the list is Monarda fistulosa.  This is a native beebalm.  I've noted during this summer's dry conditions that it is showing less fading that other cultivars.  Stepping out one afternoon, I saw a nice Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.  After a hasty retreat, I returned with camera for a long session following it on the fistulosa.  

 

 I've learned that some butterflies show clear affinity for a particular stand of flowers.  Just as it was for the swallowtail above, I have a bed of mostly conflowers that will keep a Monarch Butterfly returning for several days.  A day after the image above, I moved to the front yard to "play" with a persistent Monarch.  This is my favorite result.

 

I've heard some people pass up an opportunity to again photograph a bird or butterfly of which they already have good images.  Seems foolish. Something is always different.  The pose is never exactly repeated, or the behavior is unique, or a new lesson is learned.   This study of flowers and their pollinators has been unique.  I'm ready for more.

Thanks for your interest.

Paul Schmitt