A cousin of mine suggested that the tiny flowers might be chiondoxa luciliae or glory in the snow - what a beautiful name for a wee flower. I thought it might be spring squill - another type of flower listed under the scilla family. Whatever it's name the little insects certainly were busy with it.
I can only hope that they had a nest or somewhere safe to return to for a few more weeks as true spring weather has returned to this part of the continent...sunny but cool and with true March winds making it very chilly indeed to be in the breeze
Which makes me wonder - what will happen if we have many more incidents where it becomes summery hot and then wintery cold in less than 24 hours. Will the insects adjust? Do we really know how to cope if the pollinators of our crops suddenly are gone? Certainly apple farmers up here will suffer, but we know too that wheat needs pollination from insects - it isn't all done by pollen blowing from plant to plant. Nature's design over eons has created an inter-dependent eco-system or series of ecosystems across the planet. We've lost so many of the species that our forefathers knew, can we really afford to lose many more?
And while as I've said before, the unseasonable weather we had for two or three weeks this month may well be an anomaly, it still could also be a warning of things to come, or of other climatic changes that we have yet to experience and can't yet forecast.
More reason to hope this is an anomaly and make the most of every second we have and every gift from nature. A sobering thought for a bright sunny Monday.
Hi Barbara, unfortunately the video didnt work for me :(, so I wasn't able to witness the beauty of this!
ReplyDeleteHowever, I may be able to help answer your query about the insects! By this time, especially with recent warm spells, insects will have been able to develop their nests for the new year, resulting in a warm shelter for them in the evenings. With the pollinators being most active in sunlight, you can almost guarantee that they;re chances of survival are very high.
I am so disappointed with blogger that my videos haven't been playing lately. This one was fascinating with the little wasp gathering pollen onto his "panniers" on his legs... but I really appreciate your information about the insects having nests already. That is so reassuring, given the cold weather we've recently experienced... Thanks Peckish for stopping by - you have an awesome website with tons of information on feeding birds!
ReplyDeleteOh I really wanted to watch your video! I'll check back soon to see if Blogger has relaxed its grip on your videos.
ReplyDelete