Blessed...bee the pollinators at work

This is one of those days that is not only hot, it's what my longsuffering spouse calls 'stinkin' hot', meaning there is not even a whisper of a breeze to stir the air and cool the spirit. After trying to do a little deadheading, I decided he was right, that it was too hot to do anything except look and listen. So I picked up my camera and went for a stroll around the gardens.

The first thing to catch my attention was a lovely, if speedy, hummingbird moth in the delphinium. He was speedier than me, and by the time I could switch settings, he had switched plants to somewhere I wasn't.

I don't spray the gardens with anything but water, or occasionally water mixed with liquid seaweed fertilizer (which I find deters the aphids that love the honeysuckles so much.) I know there are pesky critters around the gardens, but unless they happen to be a slug right in front of me, I just ignore them. Because for every critter that might be a nuisance, there are thousands that are beneficial. Even when they look like they might be naughty.

Disclaimer: I am not an entomologist. Not even close. I know the names of a couple handfuls of species, can recognize a bee from a wasp from a fly USUALLY (there are sneaky bee-mimics that can confuse) and know a few butterflies by name. But I know there are thousands (probably millions) of beneficial pollinator insects, and that's good enough for me. Like this handsome bee climbing around on the inula.

And some of the creatures hanging out on Astrantia 'Lola'. We'll see more of them in a few minutes.

Question: does anyone recognize this creature on the knautia flower? I've had them around for a few weeks, and they seem benevolent, though odd. You can't see this without maybe a higher resolution photo, but the antennae resemble those of moths, with fringes on them.

Addition: Thanks to Marguerite from Canoe Corner, who identified this for me as the black wing moth Ctenucha virginica. I always say bloggers are a wealth of information...this just proves my point. Thanks, Marguerite!

No pollinator on this veronicastrum when I snapped its photo, but a hummingbird had been zipping to flowers on another stem just seconds before. They're also very active little monsters today.


This lovely flowering allium (what species, I do not know, but it came from the Netherlands Bulb Info Centre last year) is about three feet tall, and happily festooned with a variety of flies and other visitors.

Did you know that astrantia is an umbellifer? Which is now called the Apiaceae family rather than the Umbelliferae (which is a far pretty and more descriptive name). Umbellifers include parsley, dill, carrots, Queen Anne's lace, and oh yes, that 'wicked' giant hogweed that the media has its knickers in a twist over. Must be a slow news week. Anyway, yeah, astrantia, also called masterwort, is related to all of those plants, but is one of the most lovely plants in my garden. And I think one of the more underused of perennials at least around here, although it's gaining in popularity every year as more people see how dandy a perennial it is. And the polilnators think it's dandy, too.

I think this is a bee-mimic fly, but whatever it is, it's enjoying the flowers on the Ilex verticillata, also known as winterberry or Canada holly. I just hope my males and females get their acts together and flower together, so there will be berries this fall.

Let's return for one more look at the astrantia. Oh, there are more visitors there. Despite my sticking my face (and my camera) right in their faces, no one got alarmed. And I never get stung by the bees who frequent our gardens. Maybe they know that I've put this all here for their use and pleasure. And vicariously, for my pleasure too.