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Posts Tagged: almond blossoms

A Beauty of a Day: Bumble Bees in Benicia

If there's anything better than seeing honey bees foraging on almond blossoms, it's this: Bumble bees foraging on almond blossoms. Make that the...

A yellow-faced bumble bee,  Bombus vosnesenskii,heads for an almond blossom in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii,heads for an almond blossom in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii,heads for an almond blossom in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced bumble bee,  Bombus vosnesenskii, nectaring on almonds in Benica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, nectaring on almonds in Benica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, nectaring on almonds in Benica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow thorax and face help identify  Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow thorax and face help identify Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow thorax and face help identify Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A wing of Bombus vosnesenskii glistens in the sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A wing of Bombus vosnesenskii glistens in the sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A wing of Bombus vosnesenskii glistens in the sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow abdominal stripe helps characterize  Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow abdominal stripe helps characterize Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow abdominal stripe helps characterize Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Time to go! Bombus vosnesenskii departs one blossom for another. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Time to go! Bombus vosnesenskii departs one blossom for another. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Time to go! Bombus vosnesenskii departs one blossom for another. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at 4:49 PM
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Environment, Natural Resources

'A' is for Almonds and 'B' is for Bees and Bradford Pear Blossoms

No, it's not Valentine's Day, yet. Yes, the almonds are blooming. No, it's not spring. But it looks like spring in Benicia. The almonds are...

Benicia resident Gordon Hough captured this image of a bee nectaring on a Pyrus calleryana (Bradford pear or another cultivar) at the Benicia State Recreation Area on Monday, Jan. 21, as identified by Daniel Potter, UC Davis professor of plant sciences.
Benicia resident Gordon Hough captured this image of a bee nectaring on a Pyrus calleryana (Bradford pear or another cultivar) at the Benicia State Recreation Area on Monday, Jan. 21, as identified by Daniel Potter, UC Davis professor of plant sciences.

Benicia resident Gordon Hough captured this image of a bee nectaring on a Pyrus calleryana (Bradford pear or another cultivar) at the Benicia State Recreation Area on Monday, Jan. 21, as identified by Daniel Potter, UC Davis professor of plant sciences.

Almonds are blooming in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Almonds are blooming in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Almonds are blooming in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 at 4:21 PM
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Economic Development, Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources

Carpenter Bees Like Almond Blossoms, Too

We're accustomed to seeing honey bees pollinating the almonds. But carpenter bees do, too. We spotted a female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa...

A female Valley carpenter bee buzzes in the almond blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female Valley carpenter bee buzzes in the almond blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female Valley carpenter bee buzzes in the almond blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Full speed ahead: carpenter bee sights an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Full speed ahead: carpenter bee sights an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Full speed ahead: carpenter bee sights an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Female Valley carpenter bee meets almonds blossom. She's shaking her  thoracic muscles to loosen the pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Female Valley carpenter bee meets almonds blossom. She's shaking her thoracic muscles to loosen the pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Female Valley carpenter bee meets almonds blossom. She's shaking her thoracic muscles to loosen the pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:16 PM

The Almonds Are Blooming! The Almonds Are Blooming!

Everyone has a favorite almond tree, right? Mine--well, it's not exactly mine!--is on the grounds of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research...

Springlike scene--a honey bee foraging in almond blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Springlike scene--a honey bee foraging in almond blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Springlike scene--a honey bee foraging in almond blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

Golden is her color and white is her aim. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Golden is her color and white is her aim. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Golden is her color and white is her aim. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of honey bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of honey bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of honey bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, February 19, 2014 at 6:22 PM
Tags: almond blossoms (7), honey bees (452)

An Early Bloomer

You've heard of late bloomers. How about early bloomers? A trip to the Benica (Calif.) State Recreational Park on Sunday yielded quite a surprise:...

A solo almond blossom blooming Jan. 5, 2014 in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A solo almond blossom blooming Jan. 5, 2014 in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A solo almond blossom blooming Jan. 5, 2014 in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It will be a few weeks until we see scenes like this. This photo was taken Feb. 11, 2013. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It will be a few weeks until we see scenes like this. This photo was taken Feb. 11, 2013. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It will be a few weeks until we see scenes like this. This photo was taken Feb. 11, 2013. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, January 6, 2014 at 10:35 PM
Tags: Ag Alert (4), almond blossoms (7), almonds (65), Christine Souza (5), Eric Mussen (290), honey bees (452)

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