(updated Nov. 21) This is the week of the Wild Pollinator Count, so don’t just stand there … count! That’s just what I did for half an hour last Sunday and look what I found. I don’t have names for all of these insects, but being part of the Wild Pollinator Count is certainly improving my ID skills.

Beetles on Baekea?
Native bee Fam. Coletidae?
Native bee Fam. Coletidae?
Blue-banded Bee
Weevil on Gorse Bitter Peaesia ulicifolia
Blue Banded Bee on Grass Trigger Plant
Native bee Tasman flax lily
A Gasteruptiid wasp (male – white tip on abdomen)
Native bee Fam. Coletidae?
Hover fly Simosyrphus grandicornis?
Native bee on Eriostemon
Native bee on Kunzea
Hover fly Simosyrphus grandicornis?
Honey bee on Grevillea
Pin-tail beetle Bulbine Lily
Native bee on Baekea sp
Honey bee Grass Trigger Plant
Honey bee black walnut

And a few more pollinators later in the week …

Irridescent Burnet moth (Pollanisus?) on Baeckea sp
Irridescent Burnet moth (Pollanisus?) with beetles
Irridescent Burnet moth (Pollanisus?) on Baeckea sp
Moth (Noctuidae, Agrotis?) in orange blossom
Moth Noctuidae, Agrotis ?infusa) in orange blossom
Shield bug on Baeckea
Tiny moth in orange blossom
Fam Crambidae, Scoparia? sp on Choisya
Moth (Noctuidae, Hadeninae) in orange blossom
Scarab beetle diving in – blackberry
Earwigs were common in lilies and roses

And in the nearby forest, the Musk Daisy Bush was in full flower. Most of the buzzing insects were too small and fast, but …

Hoverfly (Simosyrphus grandicornis?)on Musk Daisy Bush (Olearia argophylla)
Hoverfly (Simosyrphus grandicornis?) on Musk Daisy Bush (Olearia argophylla)
Common Grass Blue butterfly (Zizina labradus) on Mush Daisy Bush (Olearia argophylla)
Native bee on Musk Daisy Bush (Olearia argophylla)
Native bee on Musk Daisy Bush (Olearia argophylla)
Hoverfly Syrphidae Melangyna?
Hoverfly Syrphidae Melangyna?