Posts Tagged: bees

The Chase

If you've ever tried to photograph male long-horned bees, Melissodes agilis, you know how fast they can fly and how quick they can dart. They fly...

A male long-horned bee, Melissodes agilis, chases a female of the species over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male long-horned bee, Melissodes agilis, chases a female of the species over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Beauty at Its Best

Beauty at its best.   If see the perennial shrub, Anisodontea sp. ‘Strybing Beauty,' a member of the family Malvaceae (mallows),...

Is there anything more beautiful than a golden honey bee tucked inside the spectacular rosy pink blossom of Anisodontea sp. ‘Strybing Beauty'? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Is there anything more beautiful than a golden honey bee tucked inside the spectacular rosy pink blossom of Anisodontea sp. ‘Strybing Beauty'? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee heads for the Anisodontea sp. ‘Strybing Beauty.' (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee heads for the Anisodontea sp. ‘Strybing Beauty.' (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Beckoning Bees at Bodega Bay

Head to the Bodega Bay in Sonoma County and you'll see little kids building sandcastles on the beaches.  But head to Bodega Head in the spring...

Digger bees, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, building their nests in the sand cliffs off Bodega Head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Digger bees, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, building their nests in the sand cliffs off Bodega Head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

These are the turrets, aka "sandcastles," that digger bees build in the sand cliffs off Bodega Head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

These are the turrets, aka "sandcastles," that digger bees build in the sand cliffs off Bodega Head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, heading toward her nest at Bodega Head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, heading toward her nest at Bodega Head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sorry, We're Closed? Not the California Master Beekeeper Program!

Sorry, we're closed! What's a honey bee to do when one of her favorite flowers, cape mallow (Anisodontea sp. "Strybing Beauty") is not open for...

An energetic honey bee heads for a cape mallow (Anisodontea sp. "Strybing Beauty"), only to find it closed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An energetic honey bee heads for a cape mallow (Anisodontea sp. "Strybing Beauty"), only to find it closed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Are you really closed for bees-ness? The honey bee peers inside the cape mallow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Are you really closed for bees-ness? The honey bee peers inside the cape mallow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm going in! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm going in! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ah, sweet nectar! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ah, sweet nectar! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

National Honey Bee Day: A Buzzworthy Day, Indeed

Hear that buzz? Are you ready for National Honey Bee Day? It's held the third Saturday of August and that's tomorrow. Launched in 2009 by a small...

Honey bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating a strawberry blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating a strawberry blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating a pomegranate blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating a pomegranate blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating an apple blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating an apple blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bees pollinating an onion umbel (flowering head). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bees pollinating an onion umbel (flowering head). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating a nectarine blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating a nectarine blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating a sunflower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating a sunflower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee heading toward a plum blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee heading toward a plum blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating pear blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee pollinating pear blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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