The cow Parsley has come back into flower which means one thing. Nearly every nectar feeding insect suddenly looses all of their timidness and reserve and goes on a nectar binge. They feed and feed, quickly getting plastered with pollen, doing the plants dirty business.
This Dancing Fly (Empididae empis) didn't even notice me getting in close with the camera. These insects are adapted to feeding out of the long stems of thistle flowers, but used in combination with its large powerful legs enables it to be used on almost any small flower.
This Wasp Beetle (Clytus arietus) lacks the delicate extended mouth parts that the dancing fly has and so plunges its entire head deep into the flower. Having its head covered means that it won't spot predator attacks coming. It has instead developed a resemblance to stinging species and hopes that most creatures would leave it alone.
This Green Legged Sawfly (Tenthredo mesomelas) has ended up completely plastered in pollen whilst trying to feed. This species is a peculiar adaptation as well. It is one of the only almost entirely vegetarian sawflies.
Finally this chap looked just like a rose sawfly (liked those I reared last year) but its clear upper wings were different from Arge pagana and it lacked the black edge of wing marks of Arge ochropus. I had to go back and check on the internet what this was. It is in fact a Bramble Sawfly (Arge cyanocrocea). I would love to find one of these in the larval phase.
So if you spot some cow parsley on a roadside maybe you should go and have a look at what is feeding out of it and ponder the marvel that is evolution.
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