Good news from our partner CITA Aragón in Spain! Getting ready for spring! Carrying out maintenance works in the interventions of the LIFE PollinAction project in the Ejea de los Caballeros site LIFE Programme #LIFEprogramme #LIFEproject #EUpollinators #impollinatori #api #pollinators #bees LIFE 4 Pollinators LIFE Greenchange Life BEEadapt Università Ca' Foscari Venezia United Nations Biodiversity The Pollinator Partnership BeeLife European Beekeeping Coordination polli.NET

Cleopatra Disguised... as a leaf The Cleopatra (Gonepteryx cleopatra) is an elegant butterfly belonging to the Pieridae family. The male has brightly yellow-colored forewings with a wide orange spot. However, the flashy appearance disappears when the butterfly is at rest: with closed wings, it resembles a pale withered leaf ; the pronounced wing veins enhance its camouflage. On the other hand, the female has softer colors, with a greenish hue. Adults spend the winter in a kind of hibernation; it is one of the first butterflies to appear in spring. Did you know? The Cleopatra can be considered a indicator [...]

The spindle Autumn Red The spindle (scientific name Euonymus europaeus) is a small tree or large shrub that grows in woods and hedges, on hillsides and in medium mountain areas. For much of the year, this plant is inconspicuous; its flowers are tiny and greenish, but in the autumn, it flaunts its striking dark red or red-pink leaves . Even the fruits, with their peculiar four-lobed shape, turn red or dark pink when mature and open up to reveal seeds of a vibrant orange color. Spindles, along with other species, are well-suited for the construction of rural hedges and noise-blocking [...]

Hairy-footed flower bee A solitary bee The scientific name of this species is Anthophora plumipes, from the Apidae family. It resembles a small bumblebee, but it is actually a solitary bee. The males are distinguished from the females by tufts of long hair on their legs (from which their name comes) and a white snout. The females are dark in color. With their long and slender proboscis, they feed on flower nectar, preferably those with deep corollas. They have a swift flight and can also feed while hovering in place These bees appear at the beginning of spring and prefer [...]

Viper's Bugloss For snakebites... This wild plant, Echium vulgare, belongs to the Boraginaceae family. It grows on dry and bright soils, from plains to mid-mountains. The stems can grow up to almost a meter tall. The flowers are arranged in spike inflorescences and are bell-shaped . Their color changes from pink, before blooming, to a beautiful violet-blue when in full bloom. The flowers of the viper's bugloss are highly sought after by bees , both for pollen and nectar, due to their long blooming period from April to September; excellent monofloral honey can be produced from them. Did you know? [...]