By Dave Walker
Although the Eastern Cape Highlands and Rhodes in particular enjoyed a late winter / early spring snowfall, spring is truly here and is heralding the summer months. We look forward to warmer days and life-giving rainfall to prompt the Alpine flowers to give off their best. Unlike the hectares of veld flowers to be seen in Namaqualand, many of “our” flowers are more discreet and announce their arrival somewhat later. Other than the many varieties of Kniphofia (Red-hot pokers), Helichrysums (everlasting flowers), Gladiolus Saundersii or Moraea huttonii that advertise their presence very clearly, many species are smaller and much shorter, to be found lurking between the tufts of grass. Their beautiful flowers are about thumbnail-sized and look delicate yet the plants survive the harsh climate with aplomb. There are, of course, many other flowering plants, not all of which are “cute” but all of which provide pollen and nectar on which bees, as well as many other species of insect and even lizards, feed, thereby sourcing sustenance and facilitating pollination.
Much has been written about bees but there is a special insect here in the mountains, namely a species of Hoverfly, of which there are about 300 variations in the world. As described by Werner Barkemeyer from Germany, who was a guest at Walkerbouts Inn many years ago, it is an insect that “looks like a bee but doe does not sting”. At the time of his first visit, we had, amongst others, fennel plants flowering in the garden outside the lounge where we were sitting. Barkemeyer said “Come, I vill show you”, so out we went. Apart from the similarity in colouring, he promptly pointed out another difference which was the origin of the species’ generic name. Much like Hummingbirds, they hover before changing direction to zoom in on a flower or zoom off to wherever they decide to head to.
