It is still National Pollinator Week in the USA, and I hope they are having a good one. Here in Vancouver, it is rainy and cold. But that is no reason not to engage in some pollinator photography! A couple weeks ago, I found a syrphid larva among the blackberry leaves we feed our stick insects.

I ended up keeping it in the cage, feeding it with bunches of aphids.

The larva disappeared after a day of eating so well, so I presumed it had dropped to the soil to pupate. Sure enough, today we found him buzzing around the cage. I took the opportunity for some pictures, then sent him out (in a protected location) after a meal of honey.