Posts Tagged: Svastra

Native Bee, Native Flower, Sunny California

Just a day in the life of a native bee on a native flower in native California. Svastra obliqua expurgata, also called "the sunflower bee,"...

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, heads for a Coreopsis. Both are natives to California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, heads for a Coreopsis. Both are natives to California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Start here...the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, begins to forage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Start here...the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, begins to forage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Clockwise works for this sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Clockwise works for this sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, hello, there! The sunflower bee, Svastra, looks up at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, hello, there! The sunflower bee, Svastra, looks up at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Life Is Not Always Sunny for the Sunflower Bee

Life is not always sunny for the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua, a native longhorned bee. The gals have trouble foraging when a...

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Life is good, the pollen is better. But that's about to change for this female sunflower bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Life is good, the pollen is better. But that's about to change for this female sunflower bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bullet of a bee is heading toward the foraging sunflower bee. He means business. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bullet of a bee is heading toward the foraging sunflower bee. He means business. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Scram! The male Melissodes agilis scores a direct hit on the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. This image was shot at 1/8000 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Scram! The male Melissodes agilis scores a direct hit on the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. This image was shot at 1/8000 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm outta here! The sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, quickly departs for another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm outta here! The sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, quickly departs for another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Day 7 of National Pollinator Week: Meet a Sunflower Bee

It's Day 7--the last day--of National Pollinator Week.  Meet a longhorned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, family Apidae....

A female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, foraging on sneezeweed at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, foraging on sneezeweed at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sorry, This Blossom Is Taken

So here's this male longhorned bee (Svastra) sipping a little nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). As the late Mr. Rogers (1928-2003), star...

A male Svastra dive-bombs another male on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). This image was taken with a fast shutter speed of 1/3200 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male Svastra dive-bombs another male on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). This image was taken with a fast shutter speed of 1/3200 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Following the dive-bombing, the male Svastra kept occupying the blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Following the dive-bombing, the male Svastra kept occupying the blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

May the Buzz Be With You

Did you feel the buzz in 2015? The honey bees, bumble bees, sunflower bees, sweat bees...what a year it was! It's time to walk down memory lane--or...

A female ultra green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, nectaring on cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female ultra green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, nectaring on cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenski, foraging on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenski, foraging on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, foraging on a Bacopa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, foraging on a Bacopa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two sunflower bees battle it out: a male Svastra (larger bee delivers quick kick to a smaller male Melissodes. The flower is a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two sunflower bees battle it out: a male Svastra (larger bee delivers quick kick to a smaller male Melissodes. The flower is a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A praying mantis eating a bee, predator vs. prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A praying mantis eating a bee, predator vs. prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Freeloader flies, family Milichiidae, and probably genus Desmometopa, dining on a honey bee, a spider's prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Freeloader flies, family Milichiidae, and probably genus Desmometopa, dining on a honey bee, a spider's prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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