Bees toiling for nectar

Many flowers, closely protect their nectar in deep nectaries (e.g. the Mint family) or behind barriers made by modified petals, like pea flowers. This way, unspecialised nectar feeders, which may not be good pollinators such as ants might not be able to access the nectar, but bees, which will visit many flowers in succession and are effective pollinators will be able to. These modified flowers have their pollen-bearing anthers on the roof of the modified petal blocking the entrance. The bee, while coming in to feed on the nectar, rubs its back on the pollen, ensuring she will pollinate the next flower she visits. Bees, however, often have to work really hard to get at the nectar.
 A few days ago I watched a common carder bee, Bombus pascuorum, feeding on Iris flowers (top photo). It tried to get in through the side unsuccessfully, but eventually found the way in pushing through the middle of the landing petal (which are called 'falls').
Later, a female Osmia caerulescens, landed on a Phlomis flower, she seemed to sense there was nectar behind the hooded petal closing the flower and pushed with her head until it managed to get under it. It spend quite a long time inside, I guess this is a nectar-rich plant and it will take a while to empty the nectaries for a small bee like this.

Osmia caerulescens getting in.

The bee just before leaving the flower after feeding.

Loving the ivy

The late flowers of the ivy are a bug magnet in the autumn, when other sources of nectar are scarce. I have posted before on ivy fest season, but today I came across some new ivy visitors in a large ivy just starting to bloom in my local cemetery. Speckled Wood butterflies rarely visit flowers, as they usually feed on honeydew produced by aphids up in trees. So, I was pleasantly surprised to see two individuals feeding on ivy together with a Comma and many Droneflies.

Speckled Wood and Comma

Comma

Dronefly Eristalis tenax

Male wasp

Helophilus

Yellow dung fly?

Nectar from cherry leaves

I was watching male bumblebees around the cherry tree a few days ago when I saw some honeybees around. On close inspection, I noticed they were visiting extrafloral nectaries, little red swellings in the petiole of cherry leaves, which secrete nectar, usually taken by ants. The bee would visit several leaves in succession, but being high in the tree, it was tricky to get good shots. I noticed an early bumblebee, Bombus pratorum, doing the same. So, even when not in bloom, cherry trees are producing nectar used by bees and bumblebees. Many other plants have these nectar glands, including willows, cherry laurel and plums.

honeybee sucking nectar from the nectary

Male Bombus pratorum doing the same

A close up of a cherry extra floral nectary

Ladybirds like nectar too!

At the beginning of spring aphid populations haven't build up yet. When ladybirds emerge from hibernation it is not uncommon to see them enjoying some plant nectar. Here a Harlequin ladybird enjoys licking the nectar gland under the male flowers of a spurge.

This 7 spot is enjoying the same sweet secretions on the buds of peony that ants like.

And on a verge, tens of 7 spots congregate on the flowering heads Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata). I couldn't see any aphids or other pests and the female being mated has her head right into the buds of the plant.
Greenfingers also touched the topic recently on his wonderful blog, full of great shots and information.