Finally Buzzing

After a fairly quiet winter, it's nice to see the insects return with Spring. I headed back out today to document some of the visitors. I know nothing about species identification for insects. Part of the reason for photographing them is to force myself to learn. If anyone can ever ID something that I'm not sure of, please share your wisdom in the comments.

A dragonfly rests on a budding blanket flower.

Visiting a different flower.

A bee fruitlessly searches a greeneyes deadhead.

The scarlet milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) is not native and some Florida gardeners prefer not to propagate it. But with the lack of availability of the native butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), and my apparent inability to grow it from seed, I'm happy to plant this variety to provide plenty of food for our migrating Monarchs. It's doing a pretty good job at reseeding itself this year.

This guy is built perfectly for extracting the nectar out of these firebush (Hamelia patens) flowers. Thanks to the tear in the flower tube, you can see the proboscis sticking out.

The garberia (Garberia heterophylla or fruiticosa) provides some unique texture and is proving to be quite drought tolerant.

A pollinator visits this unique blanket flower phenotype. Notice the pollen-coated legs.

Another insect displays a large accumulation of pollen.