Wings and stings : the other side of the garden

The monsoon is still in full force in Mumbai; soaking the city, whipping the trees, thrumming a tattoo on car-tops, driving everyone indoors.
But the minute there is a lull, my garden is a-buzz. The passion-flowers are in full bloom and there are hundreds, possibly thousands, of very busy bees hard at work. I don't blame them. The fragrance of the passion-flowers is so sweet and seductive!
I have never tried to locate the hives of these bees to harvest their honey. That belongs to them; they work so hard for it.

All over the world, reports are pouring in of tragic colony collapses. (Why is it so important to us? Important enough for Einstein to state "If the bee disappeared off the face of the earth, man would have only four years left to live"! He was referring to the fact that one-third of our crops depend on honey bees for pollination Take them out of the picture and that's famine you're staring at!
Take a look at this trailer of 'More than honey'. Very interesting! )

Here, in my garden, though, the bees seem to be thriving. And I love watching them going about their work.

I had never really noticed how a bee slurps up nectar! Did you see its tongue? In some of the other pictures I've clicked, the tongue is stuck out long before the bee has landed on the flower ... greedy! (Or just super-efficient?)
And the passionflower is so ingenious. I had never really noticed before how its oval anthers are curved just-so to perfectly fit the curve of a bee. All the better to dust you with pollen, my dear!
And our greedy bee is liberally smothered with this golden dust, little knowing (or caring, I'm sure) that she's a pampered, very well-compensated courier.

hmmm .... I wonder how passionflower-flavoured honey would taste?

If the passionflower is perfectly designed for visiting bees to sit and sip awhile, other blooms like this Safed musli ( Chlorophytum breviscapum ) are not so accommodating. But if the medicinal qualities of this very potent plant are going to be infused in the honey ... maybe I should be expecting an explosive growth in the bee population soon!

But, jokes aside, the bees have to be some of the most beneficial and valued creatures in the garden. Even if we gardeners do grouse about unexpected stings once in a while.
Painful, but such a small price to pay for help in the garden!

Wasps are some of my other favourite beneficials in the garden. Except, they won't hand out anything tasty and edible like honey. But they're skilled hunters and they do take care of pests!

Most wasps tuck in a snack for baby to munch on when it hatches. I've seen them scout around plants, locate a bug or caterpillar (sometimes much bigger than itself) and carry it off to its nest to be packed in.
Talk about an efficient tiffin service!

These Paper Wasps can be very aggressive if anyone goes near their nest. Just look at their body language ... they're ready to attack if I move my camera any closer. The things we do for a photo (foolish, foolish me!)!

Okay, I know this is really, really gruesome (believe me, it's a hundred times worse when you actually see it!) but I had to show you. I was walking home the other day when I saw this wasp land on a plant and scout around. It suddenly darted under a leaf and wrestled out this large, plump caterpillar (I think it's a Common Mormon ). Before I could react, it had subdued the poor caterpillar, stripped a long piece of skin and flesh off it, rolled it into a ball and flew off with it!

So shockingly gruesome! I guess if that had been the caterpillar of a Cabbage moth I wouldn't have mourned so much but I've always been partial to the Common Mormons and its cousins.

If this was a movie, it would've never got past the Censors. But then, that's Nature for you. It can be astoundingly beautiful and gentle, as well as mind-numbingly violent and matter-of-fact.
The wasps and other beneficial creatures are yet another weapon in Nature's arsenal to maintain the balance and keep pests under control (no, you don't really need man-made chemicals to do that!) .

And when I talk of wings, I just can't leave the king of my garden out of this post, can I ? Ever since the Pariah Kite (Black Kite) family moved into my garden, I don't need to really bother about keeping the rat population under control. Especially when there's a hungry chick in the nest demanding to be fed around the clock.

Except, every once in a while, I do find their housekeeping throws up some startling discoveries! I found this skeleton of a snake  near the coconut tree on which they nest.
Pity! I quite like snakes, especially when they're so good at getting rid of rats for me.

In my book, any creature that helps me in my garden and cuts down on my work there, is one to be treasured.
Especially if they're as colourful as this Blue Banded Bee.
Even if they come with stings attached.

More links :
         Bee happy

When the Monsoon casts a spell

And the rains have come to wash us clean. Refresh us, invigorate us, pour new life into every twig and leaf and parched being.
Oh, Monsoon ... how I do love you!

All the Gulmohurs are soaked and drenched. Fiery Summer meets Cool, Wet Monsoon. Shimmering drops cling to feathery leaves and scorching petals. Such an incredibly beautiful combination!

And every outdoor surface, whether stone or brick or earth or clay, suddenly remembers tales of delicate ferns of yore. And my sterile stone walls and every rock and tiny pebble around forgets the hot, scorching Summer days...

... and suddenly transforms into a shaded moist woodland! Gone is the parched, baked, blistering-hot earth . Now I live in a primeval jungle, complete with an explosion of waving maidenhair ferns and the creek! of hidden creatures.
Who is to say just what wonders lurk under those arching fern fronds?

This is one of the monsoon wonders in my garden which always leaves me gasping at the sheer unexpected beauty of it. 

Native to our land, it wasn't planted here. It just shows up every monsoon. Like a hostess gift brought by the Monsoons.

So alike, yet so different from the Aromatic Turmeric which I have planted here. It blooms in Summer, giving me a foretaste of the beauty awaiting me in the Monsoon when the Wild Curcumas come into their own.

And, the Carambola is still in bloom! I love its clusters of tiny bubblegum-pink flowers.

So do all the bees and other pollinators, I think.

Another native, the wild Ixora is blooming its head off.

And when the flowers fall off, it's still a pretty sight!

As are all the plants in my garden. De-petaled, or mud-coated or wind-torn they may be but they love the Monsoons. As do I (can you tell?) .

Some more Monsoon links for you  ( I know, the monsoon inspires me like no other season!)  : 

       Monsoons ... the agony and the ecstasy

       Monsoon vegetables in Mumbai

       Monsoon!

      Moss and snails and maidenhair ferns ... 

      It's a wet, green world

      Growing my own food

      Monsoon gifts

      Monsoon blooms

A Summer-ful of fun ... and a great offer

If you wondered whether I had melted away in the summer heat, you wouldn't be that far off the mark. 1 month is way too long to miss updating, I know.
First I was travelling all over the place (more about that later), then when I got back my internet connection started acting up, disconnecting every few seconds until I gave up in frustration.
Then, the usual summer work in my garden caught up and I was busy, busy, busy. Not the perfect word to associate with our scorching summers here in Mumbai, I know, but I wonder whether anyone bothered to tell that to this Blue Banded Bee deliriously hopscotching among the Pentas?
(Don't you just love those colours, by the way? )

I'm quite partial to Pentas too. Partly because they're such cheerful bloomers, partly because they come in such vivid colours and mostly because the honeybees love them. Yeah, mostly because of the honeybees ... I love what they do for my plants. This particular plant had about 20 bees (at least) visiting for a leisurely sip. This one looks really deep in the cups, doesn't he? And so early in the morning too!

The crows are nesting. And guess who's got a nursery make-over? Sports-themed too! Can't figure out how she got it so perfectly colour co-ordinated, though.
Can you believe there's a crow in my garden with a flair for home decor?

You want to talk colour? I love this new entrant to my garden. I think these Red Pierrot butterflies stowed away on a couple of blooming Kalanchoes that I bought recently. Don't you just love them ... so dramatic!
Remind me to buy more plants, okay? Who knows which butterfly will follow us home next time?

If there's one bug which is always welcome in my garden it has to be the ladybug beetle (or lady-bird, as we're so used to calling them in India). I think the black-spotted red ones are really cute but I haven't seen even one in my garden (nor anywhere in Mumbai, come to think of it) so I'm more than happy with these Six-Spotted Zigzag ladybugs. Not so flamboyant but they do have a zany sense of style. And I do like their dietary habits! Any bug with a taste for aphids and scales and thrips and other nasties gets a warm welcome in my garden.

Oh! And guess what I found?
A whole slew of 1-day programmes organised by BNHS . I missed the Flamingo Watch at Sewri but I'm trying like crazy to see if I can make it for the trip to Yeoor Hills or even the Nature Trail at Elephanta Island. (okay, I missed those too ... this post has been sitting in my computer for too long! I hate it when my internet goes on the blink ) The mention of all those birds and butterflies have really sparked my curiosity.

So why am I on this hunt for trails when the summer heat normally has me yearning for a cool spot away from any physical exertion? One, because I really enjoy seeing the local flora and fauna in their natural surroundings.
Two, it's the perfect opportunity to introduce my kids to them. Normally school timings and activities get in the way but hey, the vacations are on now.
Three... and most important ... the vacations are on! and if I hear "Mama, I'm bored" or "What do I do now?" just once more, I think I'll scream.

So, I'm hunting up things for us to do together. And the more Nature-oriented, the better. Which is why the BNHS programmes are perfect.
The Trails organised by the Conservation Education Centre sound really interesting too, especially the Leopard Trail. I bet it's a hit with the teens! Me Tarazan, you ... er, Leopard?


And for all you moms (and dads) out there who are figuring out how to get junior interested in gardens and garden creatures and the Great Outdoors, here's this fabulous offer from Black Dog Publishing. They are offering all readers of The Urban Gardener a huge walloping discount of 40% off when you buy their latest book 'Kids in the Wild Garden: Fun Activities for the Great Outdoors'!
That's a sample page from the book in the picture above, by the way.And it's packed with fun projects (well-illustrated and with easy to follow step-by-step instructions) and ideas that kids of any age, from 5 years and up, will enjoy. I think I would love to make one of those butterfly houses with my daughter.
Actually, you know what? I think this is a great book for grown-ups too. I've only read snippets from the book and I'm itching to lay my hands on it.

Okay, all you have to do is to e-mail Jess Atkins ( jess@blackdogonline.com ) with your address and quote 'The Urban Gardener book offer' in the subject line when you place your order. For UK readers, the price after discount is £ 5.97 and for our US readers it is $9.57 after discount (shipping not included).

And, oh yes, there's one more thing you've got to do .... ENJOY! And do let me know how you liked the book, okay?

(pic. of page spread from 'Kids in the Wild Garden' courtesy Black Dog Publishing )

POST SCRIPT : IT"S RAINING!!! Love, Love, LOVE the rains !

Summer snapshots : currying favour

The blooms of the Curry Leaf plant (Murraya koenigii) has a besotted bee busy tring to ... well, curry favour.
Incidentally, the blooms actually smell a little pungent. Just the way Indians love their curry!

Bee Happy!

I've never noticed so many bees in my garden before . Well, I never actually went looking for them but I'm sure they noticed me! But by all accounts, my garden seems to have got the Bee Stamp of Approval.

My birdbath seems to be their favourite waterhole with its rocky sides and shallow ends. And they're not even possessive of it . They're always ready to share with the resident mynahs, bulbuls, magpie-robins, and all those migratory birds who stop over on their long journeys from Siberia and other frozen lands.

I discovered a hive swinging from a teak tree. This seems to be a new one.

Earlier, they used to make them on our coconut trees and every time our coconut buyer used to send someone up the tree to havest the nuts, they would also clear the tree of old leaves and debris. And, down would come another hive. Surprising, but I've yet to hear of anyone being stung while doing this, though.

Well, it looks like the bees have smartened up and switched to teak trees. No one's likely to disturb them there for quite some time.

I dont know what kind of bee this is but she's a real cutie, dont you think?

She was so tiny that the drying curl of a Spathiphylum leaf was a great hammock for her. I had to use the Macro setting on my camera to capture her.

And then there was this little fellow. He had found this Brazilian Button Flower (Centratherum intermedium ) and was getting drunk on it. He kept weaving in and out of it and in the process, was getting thoroughly coated with its pollen.

It's nice to know that in a time when gardeners and farmers are worrying about dwindling bee populations, my garden is seeing a population boom.

Or, maybe all those other bees have moved in here?

All I can say is, "Welcome!"