Posts Tagged: California Bees and Blooms

Exit Seminar on Oct. 18: Clara Stuligross, Ph.D., Is Passionate About Wild Bees

Clara Stuligross is passionate about wild bees, and you should be, too. Stuligross, who received her doctorate in ecology on Sept. 9 from UC...

A blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria, heads toward Phalacia. (Photo by Clara Stuligross)

A blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria, heads toward Phalacia. (Photo by Clara Stuligross)

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, heads toward a California golden poppy. Both are natives. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, heads toward a California golden poppy. Both are natives. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How to Find a Praying Mantis in the Wild

If you're trying to find a praying mantis in the wild, go where the food source is. Sounds pretty easy, right? But oh, they're camouflaged. They lie...

A praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, hides beneath an African blue basil leaf in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, hides beneath an African blue basil leaf in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, hanging out in the African blue basil leaf, scouts for bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, hanging out in the African blue basil leaf, scouts for bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Find the Praying Mantis in the African Blue Basil

Honey bees absolutely love African blue basil. If there ever were a "bee magnet," this plant is it.  We first learned of African blue...

In this image, you can see two bees on the African blue basil. But can you find the praying mantis? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In this image, you can see two bees on the African blue basil. But can you find the praying mantis? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, there you are, praying mantis! Enjoying a little sunshine, hmm? This one is a male subadult male Stagmomantis limbata, as identified by mantis expert Lohit Garikipati, a UC Davis alumnus now studying for his master's degree at Towson (Maryland) University. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, there you are, praying mantis! Enjoying a little sunshine, hmm? This one is a male subadult male Stagmomantis limbata, as identified by mantis expert Lohit Garikipati, a UC Davis alumnus now studying for his master's degree at Towson (Maryland) University. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ever See a Leafcutter Bee Sunning Itself on a Milkweed Leaf?

Well, that's something you don't see every day: a leafcutter bee sunning itself on a milkweed leaf. The narrowleafed milkweed, Asclepias...

A leafcutter bee, Megachile spp., rests on a leaf of milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis, in a Vacaville, Calif. garden. Both are natives. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A leafcutter bee, Megachile spp., rests on a leaf of milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis, in a Vacaville, Calif. garden. Both are natives. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The leaf is long and the leafcutter bee is short. Leafcutter bees are smaller than honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The leaf is long and the leafcutter bee is short. Leafcutter bees are smaller than honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the male leafcutter bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the male leafcutter bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's on the Day's Agenda for This Longhorned Bee?

Hey, the sun's up! It's time to rise and shine! Maybe I'll shine before I rise...or maybe I'll... Anyway, I just woke up, and I'm starting to stir....

After spending the night sleeping on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, a male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, starts to stir. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

After spending the night sleeping on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, a male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, starts to stir. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Read more