Animals

When visiting flowers, insects can transport pollen among plants. Bees, beetles and wasps participate in this task, explain entomologists Renata Santos and Albano Soares. Many bees live alone, without hive. This general explanation helps to look at flowers with other attention; the species present in Cabeceiras need local records.

Pollen exchanges between individuals contribute to the genetic diversity of plants. The explanation published by Gulbenkian relates pollinators to both wild plants and food crops, including apple trees, almonds and strawberry trees.

The flowers also have less remembered visitors: flower flies, daytime and night butterflies and some beetles. Observe who arrives, how long he stays and where he leaves is a way to start. The record of a visit, however, does not alone demonstrate that the insect has transferred pollen.

Not all bee or wasp-like insects belong to these groups. Flower flies are dipterans and many mimic the appearance of those insects, a resemblance that can drive away predators. Colors alone are not enough to identify the visitor of a flower.

The entomologists Renata Santos and Albano Soares, in the explanations published by Gulbenkian, highlight the pollen and nectar food and the role of these visitors in pollination. The flowers receive insects from various groups: observing who arrives and how to move can open new questions. The source describes general biology, not a species registered in the municipality.

The comparison with the bees must combine appearance and way of life. The outer similarity is related to the defense against predators; the visit to the flowers is related to the food and can contribute to the transport of pollen. They are different relationships in the same animal. Watching only bands of color does not reveal this whole story.

A flower can offer food, but it does not solve all the needs of a bee. Renata Santos and Albano Soares entomologists distinguish carpentine bees, who use dead wood to nest, from bees-miners, who need discovered soil. The diversity of shelters is also part of a garden.

The so-called insect hotels serve only part of the species, namely some that nest in cavities. They are a complement, not a universal home. The proposal is to recognize relationships between flowers, soil and wood; not to search or open nests. These general examples do not confirm local nests.

There is also a temporal dimension: different plants can offer flowers at different times. Researchers recommend diversity of forms and periods of flowering. Thus, when thinking of a garden, it is worth relating three questions: what provides food, where there can be shelter and at what time of year these resources are available.

A photograph from Cymbalophora pudica allows you to look closely at the design of the wings. The Naturdata plug indicates a wingspan from 35 to 43 mm: the distance between the ends of the open wings, not the length of the body. It is a measure of the species' record; it was not calculated from the local photograph.

The same source associates the species with plants Taraxacum and Plantago, presents a flight period from August to October and indicates distribution in the Iberian Peninsula, Balearic Islands and North Africa. These data place the specimen in a broader context.

The photographic register of the municipality, in October, shows a concrete meeting. It does not demonstrate the relationship of the copy with those plants, nor measures the abundance or flight period in Cabeceiras. The image and the record answer different questions: one document the meeting; the other brings together general characteristics of the species.

In honeybees and bees, pollen can accumulate in a rear-legged area suitable for transport. Other bees use sets of hair on their paws or under their abdomen. The entomologists heard by Gulbenkian explain that during visits to the flowers, part of the grain is on the way. The transport of food to the offspring is thus linked to pollination. It is a general explanation, without identifying an insect observed in the municipality. The color of the load also varies: experts refer to yellow, red or blue pollen, according to the plant of origin.

The scope is this set of hairs that works as a transport brush. The source also refers to groups that carry pollen in one part of the digestive tract and others that use the nests of other bees. Therefore, not all the relationship between a bee and pollen is presented as a visible load on the paws. What you see in a visit to the flower is only part of the story.

The Tagis guide describes dragonflies with two pairs of similar wings, usually closed or slightly open vertically when they land. Dragonflies keep them open horizontally. It is a first observation clue, not a species identification. Dragonflies adults can move away from the watercourses thanks to their flight capacity.

Both groups belong to the Odonata order. The guide highlights the compound eyes, the short antennas and jaws used to capture other animals. Among the prey are flies and mosquitoes: these wings are part of a history of predators, not just colors.

Connection to water also changes with the phase of life. Dragonflies need it to complete the cycle, but adults can hunt in sunny clearings, far from the river where they were born. Seeing an adult on a path does not allow them to locate their breeding point. Compare the position of the wings, behavior and environment without turning an isolated clue into an identification.