Sunflowers in the yard

[tamrock]

Almost ever year these sunflowers will pop up in patches in the back yard. This year they grew up in a corner of the yard and I'll hose em down, so they grow big and tall. Some are reaching maybe 9 to 10 feet tall now. You can find all kinds of different bee's, wasp and hornets within this patch. I see green bees, regular honey bees, bees that look like the cross between a bee and a fly that fly stationary in midair like a humming bird and have a probe like a stinger sucking up the nectar. It looks like the ants, wasp and hornets are there to gather these tiny little aphids you can barely see. There's always the Gold Finches and more will come as the seeds mature and sometimes Chickadee's that look like they're coming for some of the bugs to eat?. Me not being at all the gardener type makes growing sunflowers right up my alley as a plant to maintain. Some of the flowers look to be of a different variety, such as this two tone one that have a brownish huge to the flower petals. Each flower on that stock are all like that. I'm gonna try and harvest the seeds from that one to see if they'll grow more like it.

 

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[sugarquartz]

Beautiful big sunflowers! The hummingbird looking bees are actually moths if i recall, believe they are called a hummingbird hawk. Very cool creatures how they mimic a larger full sized hummingbird. I recently discovered them in my backyard also. Thanks for sharing

 

[BosnMate]

Great photos as usual.

 

[tamrock]

Beautiful big sunflowers! The hummingbird looking bees are actually moths if i recall, believe they are called a hummingbird hawk. Very cool creatures how they mimic a larger full sized hummingbird. I recently discovered them in my backyard also. Thanks for sharing

That is an interesting insect, but that's not it. This one I'm seeing has clear wings and is a little smaller than a honey bee. It's more than likely not a bee, but the abdomen does have stripes like a honey bee. Maybe I'll get lucky to get a picture of it.

 

[diggingthe1]

Great pictures!! The ones I planted have not flowered yet! We have a simular variety up here.

 

[sugarquartz]

I was lucky and got a picture of mine. It also had clear wings and looked similar to a bumble bee. Is this what it looked like?

 

[tamrock]

I was lucky and got a picture of mine. It also had clear wings and looked similar to a bumble bee. Is this what it looked like? View attachment 1484229

That's what it looks like. So that's a type of moth?

 

[sugarquartz]

I am not sure i was under the impression it was a hummingbird hawk moth , but not to sure if they are the same thing looking at the pictures of them on google. Maybe just a different sub species ?