Speaking of bugs, I was stunned to see so many bees flocking to my potted Southern Magnolia, which bloomed for the first time last week. Apparently they LOVE this species (according to the internet). I rarely see bees here so it was a nice sight, furry bees and non-furry bees alike, many of them looked very young too. Tropical Storm Fay blew those flowers off the tree but there’s more on the way, hopefully the bees come back.
Magnolias are living fossils, they’re very ancient and predate most trees and also bees and other common insects. Southern Magnolia flowers smell divine btw, one of my favorite trees, glad they can grow here.