Posts Tagged: Robbin Thorp

No Sweat....Just Pollen...

Look closely at a patch of California golden poppies and you may see a sweat bee (genus Halictus) collecting gold pollen. The pollen basket...

A sweat bee, genus Halictus and family Halictidae, collecting pollen from a California golden poppy, the state flower. Both the bee and the flower are natives of California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sweat bee, genus Halictus and family Halictidae, collecting pollen from a California golden poppy, the state flower. Both the bee and the flower are natives of California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sweat bee, genus Halictus and family Halictidae, rolling in the pollen of a California golden poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sweat bee, genus Halictus and family Halictidae, rolling in the pollen of a California golden poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two Insect Contests: One Winner, One to Go

One down, one to go! We have a winner in the 4th annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest, sponsored by the...

The search is on to collect the first cabbage white butterfly of the year in the three-county area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The search is on to collect the first cabbage white butterfly of the year in the three-county area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis Arboretum Is the Magical Place to Find the First-of-the-Year Bumble Bee

If history repeats itself, the person who finds and photographs the first bumble bee of the year in the two-county area of Yolo and...

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, forages on Eryngium amethystinum, a genus that belongs to the carrot family, Apiaceae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, forages on Eryngium amethystinum, a genus that belongs to the carrot family, Apiaceae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, nectaring on ceanothus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, nectaring on ceanothus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Legendary Robbin Thorp: A Tribute Well Deserved

When UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal created a video tribute honoring the UC Davis faculty who recently transitioned to emeriti, he...

The legendary Robbin Thorp in front of an almond tree on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The legendary Robbin Thorp in front of an almond tree on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Get Off My Turf!

Get off my turf! The native bees known as Melissodes, the longhorned bees, start stirring in the early morning. First, they settle on...

A male Melissodes agilis pauses to sip nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male Melissodes agilis pauses to sip nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Get off my turf! A male Melissodes agilis bops another male of the species. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Get off my turf! A male Melissodes agilis bops another male of the species. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"I said get off my turf." The male Melissodes agilis trying to claim territorial rights.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"I said get off my turf." The male Melissodes agilis trying to claim territorial rights.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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