Posts Tagged: National Pollinator Week

What's on the Day's Agenda for This Longhorned Bee?

Hey, the sun's up! It's time to rise and shine! Maybe I'll shine before I rise...or maybe I'll... Anyway, I just woke up, and I'm starting to stir....

After spending the night sleeping on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, a male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, starts to stir. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

After spending the night sleeping on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, a male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, starts to stir. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Day 6 of National Pollinator Week: Meet the Drone Fly

It's Day 6 of National Pollinator Week. Meet the drone fly (Eristalis tenax), often mistaken for a honey bee. The late Robbin Thorp, UC...

This drone fly (Eristalis tenax) is often mistaken for a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This drone fly (Eristalis tenax) is often mistaken for a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Day 4 of National Pollinator Week: Beetles

When you think of pollinators, you think of bees, right?  And well you should: honey bees are the global workhorses of the pollination...

The blister beetle is both a pollinator and a pest. It is a pest of alfalfa and is toxic to livestock, especially horses. This one is foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The blister beetle is both a pollinator and a pest. It is a pest of alfalfa and is toxic to livestock, especially horses. This one is foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of a blister beetle foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of a blister beetle foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The blister beetle peers over a petal of a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The blister beetle peers over a petal of a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Day 3 of National Pollinator Week: Watch for the Tigers!

It's Day 3 of National Pollinator Week. Fortunately, a tiger came to visit us--no, not the predatory jungle animal, Panthera tigris, but a...

A newly emerged Western tiger swallowtail forages on a Mexican sunflower in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A newly emerged Western tiger swallowtail forages on a Mexican sunflower in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Faster than a speeding bullet? It seems like it. A male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, heads straight for the Western tiger swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Faster than a speeding bullet? It seems like it. A male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, heads straight for the Western tiger swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Alarmed that it's a target, the Western tiger swallowtail rises. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Alarmed that it's a target, the Western tiger swallowtail rises. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In a flash, the Western tiger swallowtail rapidly leaves its perch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In a flash, the Western tiger swallowtail rapidly leaves its perch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail is up, up and away from the male territorial bee, the Melissodes agilis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail is up, up and away from the male territorial bee, the Melissodes agilis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Are You Ready for National Pollinator Week?

Nothing says National Pollinator Week more than a honey bee coated in pollen. Make mine yellow. Yellow pollen. There's plenty of time to...

Peek-a-bee! A honey bee, blanketed with pollen, forages on a blanket flower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Peek-a-bee! A honey bee, blanketed with pollen, forages on a blanket flower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Up, up and away! A pollen-packing honey bee leaves the blanket flower, Gaillardia, taking the pollen with her. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Up, up and away! A pollen-packing honey bee leaves the blanket flower, Gaillardia, taking the pollen with her. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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