Pictures of japanese aralia blooms being visited by insects

A few weeks ago I shared video of my paper plant being visited by numerous insects. They were feeding on the nectar coming from the buds and at the same time helping to pollinate them. As I was doing video I took some pictures as well, in this post I will share some of the photos I liked.

Camera Model	Lumix GH3
Lens	Olympus M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 12mm-50mm
Filter	none
Aperture	f/11
Shutter Speed	1/400 sec
Film Speed	400
Spectrum	Visual Light
Wavelength	380 through 700 nanometers
Location	North Georgia USA.

During autumn the temperatures drop and most plants start to go dormant. Though this paper plant tends to bloom around that time. I am surprised to see how active these buds are when its cold outside. I would think the bugs are not able to fly around much.

Not all the buds have opened yet so as the week goes on they will all open. This gives the insects time to visit each one before moving onto the newest buds that just opened.

In the picture above I see four different kinds of insects feeding on the plant. Aphids, an ant farming them, jellow jackets, and a fly.

One of my favorite features of this plant is how the leaves look when light is shining through them. The only other plant I have that does that is the sweet olive tree.

Got a zoomed shot of a fly resting on the paper plants leaf, looks like it has some pollen on it. I was surprised to see flies feeding on these buds honestly.

I wanted to spray for the aphids but worried it would make the other beneficial insects go away. Using neem oil works well dealing with the aphids and their ant farmers. So I just held off when it was budding, the cold killed them all recently.

Honestly I was nervous being this close to a dozen or so yellow jackets were near me. Though they seemed quite busy just feeding on the nectar and minding their own business. Sometimes they would fly by my head but never try to attack me.

The smell of these buds are mild, I wonder how all the insects in the area find them. Maybe they know from previous years this plant usually blooms in the fall.

An yellow jacket resting on a leaf by the buds, it was fun watching two insects land on the same flower. Usually the yellow jackets were pushing the flies off when they got too close. But I saw honey bees push away the yellow jackets, so I guess they are not the toughest. Also bald face hornets feed on this plant and they would be the supreme insect I would think.

This plant is almost ten years old now, its been a slow grower but in the recent years its flowers are the most impressive feature of it. Since it flowers so late in the season, seeing bugs feed on it when its in the 40s and 30s F is an interesting experience.

Two bugs can be seen on the same flower, but they try to keep their distance. At least the fly is the one staying away. I saw two of them get too close and the fly left, maybe worried the yellow jacket would eat it.

Soon this plant will be growing above a stairway its by, then it will get alot more sunlight. Got to make sure it does not grow too big to block the light way. I wonder how much bigger it will grow before it stops.

A mosquito can be seen feeding on one of the flowers, I was quite surprised to see this. I thought they only feed on animals for blood. Seeing one was unusual to me, maybe it was a crane fly instead? Not sure.

Glad I got along with the yellow jackets, usually I am at war with them. They tend to build homes on my property and I have to destroy them before they grow big enough to be dangerous. Ive killed maybe half a dozen so far so I am getting the idea of how to do it.. In the dark with minimal light. But good I could take pictures of them without them bothering me. I guess not being by their nest they are alot nicer. But maybe one day one of them will get tired of having me near by. Not looking forward to that, as if one stings you many others may too. Been chased by them, its not something I want to repeat.

Below are my previous posts on this plant I did recently:

https://peakd.com/hive-173511/@solominer/japanese-aralia-blooms-being-visited-by-insects-part-1

https://peakd.com/hive-173511/@solominer/japanese-aralia-blooms-being-visited-by-insects-part-2

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