After diner, I went out to see how my garden grows. It has cooled off because there is rain on the way. The fava beans all seem to be blooming. They have pretty white and black flowers that remind me of snapdragons.
Fava Beans In Bloom
The strange thing was that there were black ants all over them. The bean plants had some black spots on them, at what looked like some kind of flower bud, and the ants were going to those black spots.
What the heck is going on? Could the ants be getting nectar? Are those strange hat-like structures some sort of nectar container? The ants didn’t seem to be harming the plants in any way. If any body knows what was happening, please let me know.
While I was looking at the fava beans, I noticed some beneficial insects. There was a lady bug, but I didn’t have my camera. I guess I’ll have to take it out with me when ever I go. Seems like you never know what interesting happenings you will find out there. Here is a green lacewing that was on the fava beans. If there was one, there must be more. Yay! 🙂
Sorry if the photo quality is poor. The camera had a really hard time focusing on that little guy.
Last but not least, one of my David Austin roses has just begun to bloom. I just love it. I think I’ll take a couple of blooms to work with me tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
First Yellow Rose of 2010
My Homestead Fantasy 
May 27, 2010 at 1:12 pm
That rose is just stunning. Love the color. On the ants, I am almost positive they are going for pollen/nectar. Ants swarm peonie buds for the same reason (a sweet secretion from the bud). They don’t hurt the peonies so they probably are not doing any harm to your fava beans either.
May 27, 2010 at 2:58 pm
kitsapfg- That is are really interesting idea about the ants and peonies. I had forgotten that they do that. I bet your are right. Isn’t it interesting that the beans would have a spot for the ants to go to?
May 28, 2010 at 1:18 pm
Beautiful rose! I agree with kitsapfg. I’ve seen so few bees this year so far that I will praise anything that helps to pollinate the garden.
May 28, 2010 at 2:11 pm
Thomas, Thanks for the comment. I haven’t seen any honey bees this year either. This year, I put up a mason bee house. It was one of the little “canned bees” houses, so it wasn’t very expensive. It isn’t populated yet, but I’m hoping that it will be as the summer progresses.