Posts Tagged: California Bees and Blooms

Bumble Bee Braking During a Winter Break

You never know what you'll find when you visit a pollinator garden. Take the case of our visit Nov. 12 to the Sonoma Cornerstone, Sonoma, to see the...

A queen yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, brakes during a winter break in Sonoma. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A queen yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, brakes during a winter break in Sonoma. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hey, Honey Bee, I'll Race You to the Flowers!

Hey, honey bee, I'll race you to the flowers. Okay, but you'll lose. I can go faster. Watch me! The scene: a male bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus,...

A honey bee and a bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, head for the same patch of lavender. This image was taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee and a bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, head for the same patch of lavender. This image was taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, sips nectar from a lavender blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, sips nectar from a lavender blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In this photo, you can see the bumble bee's tongue or proboscis, as it sips nectar from lavender. This is a male Bombus melanopygus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In this photo, you can see the bumble bee's tongue or proboscis, as it sips nectar from lavender. This is a male Bombus melanopygus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's off to another blossom. A male bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heads for more nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's off to another blossom. A male bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heads for more nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'Mining for Bees' in the Cherry Laurels

Have you checked to see what's foraging on your early spring blooms? Our cherry laurels (Prunus laurocerasus) are blooming and the Andrena (mining)...

A tiny Andrena candida foraging in the cherry laurels in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A tiny Andrena candida foraging in the cherry laurels in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Andrena nigrocaerulea foraging in the cherry laurels in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Andrena nigrocaerulea foraging in the cherry laurels in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Learn About Native Bees from Robbin Thorp

If you want to learn about native bees, the place to "bee" on Saturday, Jan. 7 is the Rush Ranch Nature Center, 3521 Grizzly Island Road,...

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenski, exits a foxglove. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenski, exits a foxglove. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Landmark Book Addresses California Bees, Blooms

If you're looking for a holiday gift for family and friends--or maybe yourself--think bees and blooms. Specifically, California bees and...

This is a native bumble bee, Bombus californicus, on blanketflower (Gaillardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This is a native bumble bee, Bombus californicus, on blanketflower (Gaillardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Often mistakenly "identified" as a "golden bumble bee," this is the male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, on flowering milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Often mistakenly "identified" as a "golden bumble bee," this is the male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, on flowering milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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