#pollinator

[herpsandbirds]

[typhlonectes]

Watch Ethiopian wolves drink flower nectar, a first for a large carnivore

Pollen coating their muzzles suggests the endangered canids may act as furry pollinators.

With fewer than 500 individuals believed to be alive today, Ethiopian wolves (Canis simensis) are the world’s rarest wild canid and Africa’s most endangered carnivore. But when they’re not chowing down on rodents, these lanky, alpine wolf relatives have a bit of a sweet tooth: Researchers report this week in Ecology that the animals enjoy licking nectar from red hot poker flowers (Kniphofia foliosa, seen in the video above), documenting this behavior for the first time in a large predator...

Read more: https://www.science.org/content/article/watch-ethiopian-wolves-drink-flower-nectar-first-large-carnivore

[bedupolker]

If you're having a rough day it might help you to know that bees play soccer! Happy pollinator week!

[julianplum]

🪻🌱🐝 💜 🌿 ✨ // violets & violet miner bees // part of my natives + pollinators series // gouache on paper

tiny violet miner bees (Andrena violae) are a specific pollinator: they pollinate wood & dog violets in the Northeast, and show a strong preference for blue violets. letting your grassy yard rewild itself and grow violets every spring not only lets you make violet syrup, it also gives violet miner bees their most important food source and increases local pollinator diversity.

[indigrassy]

Bee on blue vervain

[mollyvega]

This shiny little bee is Shirley. I decided to try and make one that is a less natural looking and a bit more fantastical ✨🩵✨

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[missedmilemarkers]

[dragoncuspid]

Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio glaucus) on Spotted Knapweed (Centaurea stoebe)

(Photo taken by me on FujiFilm x-t30)

[kimlion1313]

Ixora & friend

Sebastian, FL - Aug 24

[notjustbees]

Shoutout to @fantabulisticity for identifying this gal as a wasp in the genus Polistes, also known as umbrella wasps.

[fatchance]

White-winged dove / paloma alas blancas (Zenaida asiatica), perched on a saguaro blossom.

The dove has been burying its head deep in the flower for a taste of nectar; its head is glowing with a golden blush of sticky pollen.

At Tohono Chul, Tucson, Arizona.

[anim-otd]

Animal of the day: Snowberry clearwing hummingbird moth! (Hemaris diffinis) The clearwing hummingbird moth is a North American species of moth, inhabiting Canada and some parts of the United States! It uses its long proboscis to sip sweet nectar from flowers and has a bumblebee-like coloration, leading gardeners to sometimes believe that they are looking at a bumblebee instead of a moth! It even emits an audible humming sound with its wings, much like bees and of course, their namesake, the hummingbirds! The larvae of this species enjoy plants such as honeysuckle and dogbane! Image source: https://www.hummingbirdcentral.com/hummingbird-moth.htm

[strayfriend]

Found this gulf fritillary sideways in a tray of water under my plants. I thought it was a goner and plucked it out by the wing tips, but it immediately started moving it's legs and abdomen so I set it down to dry off. I wouldn't have touched the wings at all if I had realized! I don't know if it's too weak and hurt to leave but it has a safe place here until the storm passes.

[bedupolker]

Happy pollinator week to a type of dinosaur that has a sword strapped to its face: the hummingbird.

[jenfoundabug]

Fly feeding on nectar and/or pollen. I very often see more flies on flowers than Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, etc) or Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). Let's save not just the bees, but all the bugs, regardless of how they look <3 (with exceptions when it comes to public health, invasive species, agriculture, etc) Species unknown, superfamily Oestroidea Northeastern Pennsylvania, US

[indigrassy]

Beeutiful butterfly