The weather is misty grey and damp, but it is also rather mild. Hence I've been able to get out and take a look at the ivy plant at the far end of the campus badlands, and see who is about.
We don't get ivy mining bees on this ivy bush; it might be a bit noisy and dirty for them here as the heavy traffic thunders by on the A46 emitting heaven only knows what pollutants into the air. But the honeybees were feeding off the remnants of the ivy flowers.
Because it isn't exactly high summer, the bees were quite low energy and were thus fairly easy to photograph.
They can't be on the wing for much longer, and the sad months of the year start. October and November, everything goes to sleep, and the colours of campus become green and brown, with the stark remains of this years teasel silhouetted against the sunsets. Late December, the first snowdrops emerge and the cycle begins anew.
Si
All text and images copyright CreamCrackeredNature 16.10.24
There is such a distinctive scent from ivy flowers, and the honey made from it. Ivy is a hugely important source of late season nectar for bees, but the honey often sets really hard in the comb when the cold sets in.
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