Buggy astrantia

Every time I see Astrantia flowers, I check for bugs; they seem to attract more than most of our local flowers. The last clump we found in Beach Grove was no exception; every flower harboured at least one good-sized insect. Laurie caught a bee on this one:

Possibly a Western Leafcutting bee, Megachile perihita.

Examining the photo closely in an attempt to identify the bee, I discovered another insect; a tiny bluish fly.

See it there below the tip of the bee's rear leg?

And, under the category, "and little fleas to bite 'em", if you look again, you'll see an even smaller beastie, probably a beetle, on the top leaf on the left.

"So nat'ralists observe, a flea
Hath smaller fleas that on him prey,
And these have smaller fleas that bite 'em,
And so proceed ad infinitum."
- Jonathan Swift, 1733

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