Tuesday, 15 March 2022

Primroses and Bee Flies

You can tell spring has properly sprung now. The wild Primroses Primula vulgaris are out, and the Dark-edged Bee Flies Bombylius major are doing their job. They are specialist pollinators of Primroses. I photographed this one at work in our neighbour's orchard the other day -- with my phone!!

Dark-edged Bee Fly Bombylius major on Primrose Primula vulgaris, Indre et Loire, France. Photo by Loire Valley Time Travel.

Primroses need a pollinator with a long tongue that is on the wing in the early spring, like a Dark-edged bee fly, a Garden bumble bee or Hairy-footed flower bee.


2 comments:

Carolyn said...

Such long legs, almost wasp-like.

Susan said...

Carolyn: You must have a different idea of the typical wasp than I do. Lots of flies have long fine legs like this, some wasps do, especially ichneumons.

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