Posts Tagged: pollinator gardening

Honey Bee Impostor

It's often mistaken for a honey bee. Indeed, to the untrained eye, the drone fly (Eristalis tenax) appears to be a bee. It's not; it's a...

The drone fly, Eristalis tenax, is often mistaken for a bee. The fly has the letter "H" on its thorax. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The drone fly, Eristalis tenax, is often mistaken for a bee. The fly has the letter "H" on its abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

essie Brown, 14, a junior UC Master Gardener with the Lake Tahoe Master Gardeners, photographs insects in the ceanothus at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Jessie Brown, 14, a junior UC Master Gardener with the Lake Tahoe Master Gardeners, photographs insects in the ceanothus at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why Honey Bees Forage in California Poppies

When you see honey bees foraging on the California poppy, the state flower, they're not there for the nectar. They're there for the...

Two honey bees foraging on a California poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two honey bees foraging on a California poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee with a pollen load. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee with a pollen load. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Best of Bodega: Bees Buzzing on Echium

The Pride of Maderia (Echium candicans) is blooming in the tiny Sonoma coastal community of Bodega. The purplish-blue spiked flowers attract honey...

Honey bees foraging on the Pride of Madeira at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bees foraging on the Pride of Madeira at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

Honey bee targeting an Echium. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee targeting an Echium. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Aloe, There!

Those attending the California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH) public workshop  on "Your Sustainable Backyard: Pollinator Gardening" on...

Pollen-covered honey bee on brittlebush, Encelia californica (as identified by Ellen Zagory), in back of the UC Davis Lab Sciences Building. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollen-covered honey bee on brittlebush, Encelia californica (as identified by Ellen Zagory), in back of the UC Davis Lab Sciences Building. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Syrphid flies are pollinators, too. This one is on aloe, a flowering succulent, on the Storer Hall grounds, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Syrphid flies are pollinators, too. This one is on aloe, a flowering succulent, on the Storer Hall grounds, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollinator Gardening!

If you want to learn about what bees do, and how gardeners can support healthy pollinator populations through simple gardening practice, then this is...

A green sweat bee (Agapostemon texanus) on a cone flower at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A green sweat bee (Agapostemon texanus), on a cone flower at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee and yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) sharing a cone flower in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee and yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) sharing a cone flower in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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