Posts Tagged: Thanksgiving

Bee-ing Thankful for Honey Bees

Let's put the "thanks" in THANKSgiving by bee-ing thankful for the honey bee, Apis mellifera... If your table includes pumpkin, cranberries,...

The squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, pollinating a squash. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, pollinating a squash. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Thank a bee for the squash! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Thank a bee for the squash! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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

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

Thank a bee for the pomegranate! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Thank a bee for the pomegranate! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Time to 'Bee' Thankful

It's Thanksgiving Day, and as we sit down with family and friends to count our blessings, let's thank the bees. If your table includes pumpkin,...

A squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, pollinating a squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, pollinating a squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Five honey bees offering their pollination services on a pomegranate blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Five honey bees offering their pollination services on a pomegranate blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Spider, the Syrphid and the Zinnia

What are you having for Thanksgiving? Turkey and all the trimmings? Well, this little jumping spider had his sights set on ambushing a...

A syrphid fly touches down on a zinnia, unaware of a stalking jumping spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A syrphid fly touches down on a zinnia, unaware of a stalking jumping spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Closer and closer comes the jumping spider. The syrphid fly does not see him. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Closer and closer comes the jumping spider. The syrphid fly does not see him. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syrphid fly slurps the nectar, unaware she is being watched. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syrphid fly slurps the nectar, unaware she is being watched. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ready, set...the jumping spider starts his jump to nail the syrphid fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ready, set...the jumping spider starts his jump to nail the syrphid fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Missed! Hey, where'd you go? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Missed! Hey, where'd you go? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western Monarch Population Increase: What Does This Mean?

What does the increase in the overwintering Western monarch population along coastal California mean? The number...

Overwintering monarchs at Pacific Grove, California, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Overwintering monarchs at Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz, in 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This migratory male monarch, released Aug. 28, 2016 by Steve Johnson of Ashland as part of the David James' citizen scientist project, fluttered into Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2016, on its way to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This migratory male monarch, released Aug. 28, 2016 by Steve Johnson of Ashland as part of the David James' citizen scientist project, fluttered into Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 5, 2016, on its way to an overwintering site along coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Thank the Squash Bee for That Pumpkin Pie

"Hey, there, pumpkin, how big of a piece of pumpkin pie do you want?" If you've ever been asked that, you may have responded--quite...

The squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, is a specialist that pollinates only the cucurbits or squash family, Cucurbitaceae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, is a specialist that pollinates only the cucurbits or squash family, Cucurbitaceae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a squash bee. Native to North America, it pollinates cucurbit blossoms early in the morning. The blossoms usually close around noon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a squash bee. Native to North America, it pollinates cucurbit blossoms early in the morning. The blossoms usually close around noon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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