The Visitor

Our youngest son Duncan and his partner Mei have been staying with us over Easter. Mei loves being in charge of Fergus the dog when we go on walks together. Fergus is very well behaved for her and does not pull on the lead at all. Just as well as she is a dainty little doll of a girl although extremely fit and a lover of the outdoors.
The three of us took the dogs for nice ambling walk along the Taylor River banks this morning. We headed downstream as Duncan, who is keen on trees, wanted to show Mei some very nice specimen deciduous trees growing on the river berms closer to town.
We came across this flowering gum tree with lovely dark pink flowers. There, in amongst the flowers helping itself to pollen was this colourful wasp. Wasps don’t make honey so I am wondering what they use the pollen for. Do they feed on it? Are they useful pollinators? I will now have to seek out the answers unless any well-informed Blipper can enlighten me…