Weekly #669 - Pollinators Competition

I found this competition quite difficult to judge due to the high quality of images submitted together with the obvious empathy with the subject matter. It was nice to see variations on the theme with various insects being featured
RESULTS
First JAK: Outstanding image of a bee on a Buddleia flower demonstrating the capabilities of the 100mm macro lens

Second GlynM: Again a lovely image of a Hoverfly feeding on an Ivy flower

Third PRYorkshire: Lovely capture of the wing movement as the bee moves between Ceanothus florets

Terry C: A very nice image with good detail of the insect and the flower with pollen grains on the bee’s body

Aitch53: The Hornet mimicking hoverfly shows up very well against the flower. Nice image

ConDaoultzis: Nice to see pollen beetles as an alternative to bees and hoverflies. Good image with the
metallic colouring of the elytra contrasting well with the flower

Grambuch: Lovely contrast between the flower and solitary bee

Horst: An interesting variation on a theme, so to speak.

Nigelk: Lovely shot of the bee obviously anticipating a good feed

Perspicador: Nice shot of the blossom with a bee feeding

Snakey: Often overlooked as pollinators, flies provide as good a service as conventional pollinators. Man could not exist without them!!

Noelcmn: A cracking shot of a Bumblebee in flight with some really fine detail

Retsoor: A nice capture of a Bee Fly feeding on a Primrose

Drofmit: The Carpenter Bee using its flight muscles to dislodge pollen is certainly interesting with colour contrasts between the black of the bee and the pink of the Hollyhock

Many thanks for the 3rd place and congratulations to JAK and GlynM for very worthy 1st and 2nd.
A lot of absolutely stunning images all round.

A fantastic competition. Many thanks for the coveted second place .

Congratulations to JAK for the excellent winning image, fellow podium member PRYorkshire and everyone else for rising to the challenge and providing such a wonderful set of pictures.

Glyn

Congrats JAK, GlynM and PRYorkshire, worthy winners all! And a fantastic challenge, with equally fantastic images. Thanks MHOL190246, for the challenge and the C&C's- always appreciated.

Thanks for the top spot and congrats to my fellow podiumers. Also thanks for the competition and judging. I'll get this weeks competition up and running very soon.

John... congratulations on the win..... but your photo is not of a bee... it is of a far, far more important pollinator....
the hoverfly Eristalis tenax, or Drone Fly
The rat-tailed maggots of childhood fascination belong to the Eristalis group... but all hoverflies are vital pollinators... and some have aphidophile larvae as an added bonus.
The Eristalis hoverflies have evolved some very bee like traits, not just their appearance... they buzz convincinly as they fly and as theyland and take off, it is in a bee-like fashion, rather than a fly like one... add to that their size and colouring and anyone can be, and often are convinced!!

Congratulations to everyone else, too... a wonderfully varied selection for an insectophile like me to peruse.... thanks MHOL190246 for a great comp.

Thanks for the competition and judging. Congrats to JAK lovely photo. Well done also to Glyn and PRYorkshire

It certainly isn't like out normal hoverflies! They're quite a lot smaller. Thanks for the correct ID.