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If Antonio Vivaldi were to compose The Four Seasons again, we would surely hear another type of melody from these concertos for violin and orchestra. And neither the spring nor the summer nor the autumn nor the winter of this 21st century seem to have anything to do with what the Italian composer lived (and felt) in the 18th century.
And the hoverflies seem to know this well, as they are being very active pollinating from flower to flower in the middle of January. It is not in vain that they are considered bioindicators of climate change.
This week, with the pleasant temperatures it is having, as if winter were spring (and even, sometimes, summer) you can see the hoverflies on the dandelion flowers in the cloister of the Pedralbes monastery in Barcelona, where I captured this series of photographs for La Vanguardia's Readers' Photos.
We can also see them in the yellow Basque beret flowers. It seems that spring has come early for insects. And not only for insects, but for other animals and plants. Even in the monastery garden you can see lizards running around.
Hoverflies, which we could define as flower flies, are a family of diptera that sip nectar and look very similar to bees and wasps, with which they are easily confused.
As hoverflies, which are found all over the planet, live in a large number and variety of different habitats and ecological niches, they are good bioindicators of climate change.
In addition, they are one of the great hopes in the face of the decline of bees, since they are also great pollinators. So if Vivaldi were alive perhaps he would be inspired by them to compose a new concerto that he could describe why at the end of January 2024 it seems like winter has already faded.
