Fall must be around the corner. The fall wildflowers are starting to appear and several of them provide a lot of nutrition to the fall pollinators. Probably the most important one is the blackjack flower (Bidens pilosa) simply because it lasts much of the fall until the first freeze. Those are just beginning to bloom and will not be at their peak for another few weeks. Winged sumac (Rhus copallina), on the other hand, is blooming right now. It won’t last nearly as long as the blackjack, but the pollinators absolutely love it. It seems to be especially attractive to the bees and wasps. A few days ago, I stopped by one of the blossoming sumac bushes near my home. It was literally abuzz with pollinators feeding in the tiny flowers. Among those I spotted were five banded thyniid wasps (Myzinum quinquecinctum), great black wasps (Sphex pensylvanicus), honey bees (Apis spp), double banded scoliid wasps (Scolia bicincta), paper wasps (Polistes major), and a couple of spragueia moths (Spragueia leo). You may also notice in some of the photos that there were quite a few carpenter ants (Camponotus floridanus) on the bush, too. These bushes only bloom for a few weeks, but unless it’s pouring rain, they can be counted on the provide opportunities to see (and photograph) bees and wasps at any time of the day.