Plant Britain BULBS FOR BEES AND BUTTERFLIES
The first sighting of a bee-fly each year – a flying powderpuff of brown fur with a fixed, long, straight tongue – is a sure sign that spring has arrived and something I look forward to every year. They are one of my favourite insects, so I keep a keen eye out as the days lengthen.
Usually the first one I see is sipping from the patch of grape hyacinths next to my drive, often competing with hairyfooted flower bees and bumblebee queens for the sweet nectar.
Instead, as I write, the days are drawing in fast and the last pollinators of the year – red admiral butterflies, honeybees and drone flies – are stocking up on sweet nectar from the ivy blossom in my garden hedge that will fuel them through the
