Insects and flowers

Well, maybe the inverts and flowers wouldn't object to being objectified.

This bee, a very large bee, seemed, I thought at first, dead and being attacked by ants. Then, it moved, though very slowly. I do think there was an issue... but no idea what.

The flowers of dead nettles appear to be particularly attractive to bees. They loved the ones in my garden, which bloomed a little earlier than these ones in the countryside.

I have a particular love for speedwells. I remember, and it's one of my earliest memories, if not my earliest, sitting on the lawn at our first Devon home absorbed by the tiny blue flowers. As the lawn was mowed, they grew in short dense carpets.

When I took the first photo, I saw that each bloom had a bug. Then, I looked at the wider shot and saw that all those blooms seemed to have the same type of critter in them. I wonder... what is the relationship between speedwell and this insect?

I have seen variously numbered spotted ladybirds this year. And noticed the variation between crimson and an orange-red. This seems to have six spots. As for the other... is that a damsel or a dragonfly? I don't know.

As for flowers, the first is a wild rose, pale pink. The second is... well... I had a white miniature rose in a tub. Over the years it seems to have formed close relationships with either itself (suckers?) or neighbours. Now it has complex pink blossoms and simple white ones seemingly coming from the same plant. Originally, as I said, this was a cultivated small rose plant with many-petaled white flowers. It has diversified on its own and no longer restricts its roots to the blue pot, which is still there and entire. Quite remarkable,

The third picture is to show that there is plenty more for the garden birds to feed upon. Or anyone else who fancies aphid for dinner.