Pollinators

Butterfly and the tetrahedron

Welcome Karin Hofvander!

Diego thanks, that's intriguing and the reflection below the tetrahedron is cool.

Welcome Amy Irwen!

Thank you! :)

Received from Jessica Katz:  Bee-Hydrangea

Summer's here and the bees are buzzing again in the garden.

Bumble Bee

Leaf Cutter or Mason Bee

Nifty little Yellow Face Bee.

L'été est enfin là oui et cela fait plaisir de voir tous les insectes butiner ! Bravo pour les photos qui précèdent ! 

Yes, charming small animal! The yellow face bee is so nice!

Photos of my garden in 2012, cut and pieced together...enjoy

Bienvenue Annick!

Received from Jassica Katz

received from Jessica Katz, with apology on the last one  for misspelling your name, dear friend, eek! 

Received this call today:

Americans, send mail art in support of this bill to protect BEES from pesticides!
 
To all members of the US Congress:
We call on you to immediately support the Save America's Pollinators Act.

Bees are dying off in the millions, and we rely on them for 1/3rd of all our food.

If you act urgently with precaution now to protect them from bee-toxic neonicotinoid pesticides, we could save bees from extinction.
 
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/usa_save_the_bees/?dVpcqab
 
Send to your congressperson, find the address here:

http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

summer, l'été, de zomer, der Sommer, o verão, el verano, лето, l'estate:

bee on Allium, best guess Golden Northern Bumble Bee (Bombus fervidus)

from http://greatpollinatorproject.org/sites/all/downloads/pdfs/Pictoria...

from the garden at Hyde, Glenns Falls NY, USA:

The bee below turns out to be Honey Bee - Apis mellifera

and here is a good Bug Guide:   http://bugguide.net/node/view/404389

Welcome Melissa Hayes!  14 July!

Anyone know what this is for bug?

It is an arthropod, an insect. With two wings, probably modified or semi. Probably a beetle but not sure. I'll investigate. In what city did you get the picture?

Some members of our Congress, Earl Blumenauer and John Conyers try to clean up our world, see:

...The die-off of 50,000 bees in Wilsonville, Oregon – roughly 300 nests - after the application of the neonicotinoid dinotefuran was a call to action...The Oregon Department of Agriculture is investigating the die-off and is temporarily restricting the use of 18 pesticide products containing dinotefuran...Meanwhile, Europe has already moved forward with restrictions on the use of neonicotinoids...
This week I introduced H.R. 2692 The Save America's Pollinators Act  with my friend Congressman John Conyers to suspend certain uses of neonicotinoids until the Environmental Protection Agency reviews these chemicals and makes a new determination about their proper application and safe use...
from: Earl Blumenauer,Member of Congress
http://org.credoaction.com/petitions/tell-congress-stop-the-pestici...

Diego, I live in central Sweden. It sat on the ATM machine when I would take out money. It would be fun to know what it is for any bugs, have never seen anything like it. :) 

Small Wasp preparing a nest in one of our bee boxes. The semi-covered whole at the lower left is a recently opened nest from last years wasps. For some reason the wasps have found this box to their liking, the bees have not. OK by me, they all pollinate our garden.

Jeeeeez louise! As a writer I can't believe I spelled hole wrong. Senior moment perhaps. My apologies.

received from Val:

Pollinators!
Bonjour!
...in pots on my terrace are lots of lavender plants, flowers, herbs and a honeysuckle tree or two. In previous years, they have been visited by lots of bees, butterflies and ladybirds.

Almost none of these have been seen this year -- and I haven't seen a bee on the lavender for a  couple of weeks now.

I read that the European bee population has been struck by a virus and is in danger. If what is happening, or rather not happening on my terrace is typical, then this is very true.

On my daily walks in the countryside with my friend's dog, there's hardly a butterfly around -- all the exotic, colourful and splendid ones have gone.
Alas.
Val

I follow the Group closely but am not a Member.

Bon weekend, Val

Photo from Meral Agar in Turkey

Guido, thank you for Meral's beautiful earthly-unearthly phot.

From Teres Hallman in Sweden

Lots of competition for the end of summer goodies!

Shot from the Belgian movie The 5th season, la cinquième saison, by Broses and Woodwarth (Who also made Khadak and Altiplano)

After a winter spring does not arrive, bees stay away, cows refuse to give milk, roosters do not crow, seeds do no grow into plants, trees fall for no reasons at all, eco nightmare set in the microcosmos of a small town in the Ardennes and most humans loose their humanity, splendid picture!!!

It's on my list for about a year, no USA playable version is available yet.  I'll have to return to Belgium, eh?

YOU are very or more than welcome Zois and Lynn

I could mail you a burned copy, I mean a copy burned, oops

Oh yes, that would be much appreciated same as The Misfortunates the book is very gripping even after the very good film.  Your generosity is appreciated even if  I have been poor in communication.  You have  fantastic book and film lists.  I'm sorry that the only Willem Elsschot our Library has is The Cheese.  After that we both need more Elsschot.

Greetings from a pollinator

Thanks for the squirrel calendar 2014 and the beautiful femail writer's book!

Try to see this movie if you can, it is a French Suiss documentary called DES ABEILLES ET DES HOMMES, translated as MORE THAN HONEY

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2263058/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

More than honey, painted envelope

Guido thank you, last night I was able to "stream" to the computer DES ABEILLES ET DES HOMMES / MORE THAN HONEY.  It is stunning in beauty and sadness.  Without being led by questioning the bee people reveal themselves. The callous ones walked on and slid the boxes right on some

bees, excruciating.

Your piece here  is very fine expression of bee life especially after the documentary.

New experiment of the absurd in Brussels: placing beehives on balconies in a city environment with lack of flowers: the beehives die, just like in the movie!

Do we have to explain beehives have to in parks or gardens with abundance of trees and flowers? 

Our rulers are MAD or INSANE, oh wait a second, they are driven by money and exploitation, that's all ...

Honey Bee on marigolds in our garden last summer. We are hoping to see more this year as the flowers bloom. Our fingers are crossed.

The time of the bees will be ours or NOT at all

(story of a beehive)