Flower, Who’s Your Bestie?

by Rebecca Cuningham

In the summer, I love taking flower photos, looking for new angles. Luck can provide a flower and friends photo. Here is a phlox variety unique to our garden, thanks to its bestie bee.

Flor, ¿quién te ama?

En el verano, me encanta tomar fotos de flores, buscando perspectivas nuevas. La suerte puede proveer una imagen de una flor con un amigo. Te enseño una variedad de phlox unica a nuestra jardín, gracias a su abeja amiga.

Bee (Hover Fly) on Phlox Photo: R. Cuningham

Well, I thought it was a bee. When I looked it up online, I found out it is a hover fly! Hover flies are native pollinators in Wisconsin and their larvae eat aphids, so they’re great all around. The guide says to look at the short antenna and single wings that prove this is a fly not a bee. Mimicking bee coloration must be a defense against predators. I’d say it’s still a native phlox flower bestie, whose great-grandparent may have created this pink centered flower. I’m amazed by the results of their nectar sampling.

Bueno, ¡pensé que era abeja! Pero buscando en un sitio web sobre insectos, descubrí que es una mosca, un sírfido. Este tipo de mosca polinizadora es nativa a Wisconsin. Sus crías comen pestes, así son buenas en general. El sitio web dijo que dos características que prueban que es mosca en vez de abeja son: sus atenas cortas y de tener un sólo par de alas. Copiando el diseño de rayas de una abeja debe ser una defensa en contra de predadores. Creo que también es una amiga cercana de phlox. ¿Quien sabe? ¿Era su bisabuela que formó la combinación de polen que resultó en esta flor poca usual? Me parece asombroso.

Cee what nature photographers are up to. What could be more colorful than Cee’s Flower of the Day? #FOTD

Parte de las Flores diarias de Cee. Haz un clic en el título anterior para ver más fotos.

¡Olé! –Rebecca

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Rebecca Cuningham

25 thoughts on “Flower, Who’s Your Bestie?”

      2. Thanks very much, Devang. It’s my phone on portrait mode, which I found works for portraits of flowers with hover flies too! Although I get the error message, “No person detected.” ; )

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  7. Not only are those pink flowers so pretty, but also perfectly symmetrical; I can’t get over just how aesthetically-pleasing they are! It’s no wonder bees are tempted by how lovely they are (and their sweetness, I can imagine)! Hope your summer is going well for you!

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    1. Thanks, Rebecca, glad you like the phlox! Funny about the bee, when I looked it up I found out it was a hover fly! They do a great bee imitation. Summer is good; outdoor concerts, swimming, cycling and we watched the big orange moon rise tonight over Lake Wingra. How’s your summer?

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      1. Glad to hear! My summer’s been busy, going around LA to explore and try new food places…also attended a wedding! I plan to write a Life Update about all of this soon!

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