Flower Flies

They're also called Hover Flies or  syrphid flies and this is a good year for them. They are teeny, about the size of a grain of rice, and I'm just about obsessed with them this year. Their patterns are lovely and the iridescent wings mesmerize me. They don't sit still long, so I've spent countless hours bending over my shrubs and iris waiting for one to chill out long enough to snap a photo. They're the reason I'm going out shopping for a new camera because my little Canon point and shoot is just about done. I've rolled the counter on the poor thing over three times so it deserves to retire. I need some more macro mojo, some more pixels and a battery that lasts more than half an hour. Anyway, here's a few of dozens I took that were almost in focus. 

I caught a few having a romantic moment. I'm not sure how long it lasts, but they flew around attached like this while I watched.

Speaking of bee-like creatures, I found a site called beetracker through a twitter science link, and they're asking people to send in photos of bees they see in Illinois, as there appears to be a significant decline this year. I've been looking for the last three days, and I'm hoping the wind and recent monsoon rains are the reason I've only seen three. In past years, my siberian iris were bumble bee favorites, and I loved to watch them crawl inside for the pollen. This year I have seen one bumblebee, struggling in the May March weather we enjoyed this Spring. This rollercoaster has flung us from ridiculously late frost warnings to 90 degree muggy hell within days. It's now a June August windfest, so I should pull out the kites and make the best of it, and just be glad the mosquitoes are getting blown around too much to bite. They're going to be insufferable after the last wet spell.

Cue the Monty Python song:

Always look on the bright side of life.....

The plants keep growing no matter what insane weather we have, and maybe the honey bees are missing, but the little flower flies are pollinating and mating in droves. And - my lovely neighbors put up a bluebird house, and the proud parents are frequent visitors to my yard. Bluebirds are a first for me here, and I smile inside everytime I see them. Maybe when I get that new camera I can even take a picture worth posting. That's all for now, I have to go play outside, maybe even go fly a kite.