Polygonum polygamum

Polygonaceae

Photos today by John Bradford except the poorly focused wasp

October Flowers declares October is here.    Been too hot through the summer for a’wandering far, but today called out cooler, and the fall floral friends were pleasing: Smilax fruits looking like grapes,   “Florida Paintbrush,”  Tarflower (hey that’s not supposed to be open now!?),  and the feature attraction: October Flower.    Despite prior attention (https://treasurecoastnatives.wordpress.com/2021/08/27/october-flower-is-fun-to-watch/) ,  I can’t resist posting this white delight again.   A thing I love about October Flower is rooted in the ecology of native pollinators:

They’re hurting, especially in disturbed, polluted, urban/suburban woodsy fragments.   Depressing studies (not locally)  tend variably to reveal urban conditions to be harsh for native pollinators.    Nature lovers with suburban gardens, like me, “help the pollinators,”   which can be only partially true since pollinator richness and diversity depend on diverse factors beyond garden flowers. 

We all love honeybees, but, pity, they are invasive exotics al-bee-it with benefits.  All this being so,  I take special joy in native pollinator watching, even though the bee house in my garden is vacant.    Some native wildflowers attract native visitors like bees to honey.   October Flower is one of them, and being abundant in scrub remnants,  it brings a buzz of  “natural pollination” to a nature area near you.

I’m no wasp expert, but I can Google like a pro, and I think today’s visitor is a male “long wasp” (Myzinum sp.).    You see them as floral visitors, having a waspy kinda love for small white blossoms.   Avidly gathering pollen with their faces in the flower,  they seem uninterested in humans with cameras.   As an instant Google expert, let me tell you a fun fact—although the male can’t sting, it has a scary looking Captain Hook  false stinger, and will fake-it if bugged.   Here’s a picture from the UF Museum: