Pollinators, part one. I make frequent mention of pollinators in this diary. Flowering plants and pollinators co-evolved over millennia- fossil records suggest a period of 110-140 million years! However I must admit that my knowledge of pollinators is limited. So I will make this the first in an occasional series where I try to identify the pollinator as well as the plant.

 The plant in question is White Honesty (Lunaria annua var. albiflora). I was intrigued when I saw this bee-like pollinator going from the flower to flower. I say bee-like because the body is hairy like a bee but the proboscis is very long and the legs very spindly. I think this is a bee-fly, possibly the Dark-edged Bee-fly (Bombyllus major). There are many species of Bombylidae and they are indeed a family of flies that look like bees.