Bug Blog
The Colors of Pollinator Week
As we near the end of celebrating National Pollinator Week, June 16-22, look around and see all the insects foraging on reddish-orange flowers. And occasionally, you might see a reddish-orange insect...
Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) spreads its wings on a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A sunflower bee (Melissodes agilis) forages on a blanket flower (Gallardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A green bottle fly rests on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee (Apis mellifera) on a blanket flower (Gallardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A leafcutting bee, Megachile fidelis, on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Pollinator with a New Name
We're almost midway through National Pollinator Week! It's a week that we should celebrate every day. Last weekend we spotted a newcomer to our backyard bee garden: a bumble bee species,...
A female bumble bee, Bombus fervidus, heads for a purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus fervidus atop the purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's National Pollinator Week!
It's National Pollinator Week! Do you know where your pollinators are? It was good to see the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) conduct its recent "Be a Scientist"...
Norm Gary, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis who recently retired as a professional bee wrangler, talks bees with Barbara Allen-Diaz, UC ANR vice president. The bee sculpture, in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis, is the work of Donna Billick. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
That's one pollinator! Barbara Allen-Diaz, vice president of UC ANR, holds up a finger designating one pollinator. This is Donna Billick's bee sculpture in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. It was funded by Wells Fargo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Boys' Night Out
By day, they fly around our yard looking for the girls. At night, it's "Boys' Night Out." These males, longhorned digger bees, Melissodes agilis (as identified by native pollinator specialist...
These males are longhorned digger bees, Melissodes agilis, sleeping on a lavender stem. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, stirs after the warmth of the sun awakens him. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Learn About Native Bees and the Flowers They Visit
It's just in time for National Pollinator Week, June 16-22. Native bee enthusiast Celeste Ets-Hokin of the Bay Area is on a three-fold mission: She wants to protect North America's premier...
A screen shot of the "Wild Bee Gardens" app.
This is the app icon. It's of the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, heading toward a California poppy.