Posts Tagged: longhorned bees

Boys' Night Out: Let's Have a Slumber Party!

Let's have a slumber party! Don't bring a pillow, a night-cap or an attitude—it's Boys' Night Out and we're sleeping outside on the...

Boys' Night Out--Five male longhorned bees, Melissodes agilis, sleeping on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Boys' Night Out--Five male longhorned bees, Melissodes agilis, sleeping on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Good morning! A longhorned male bee, Melissodes agilis, begins to move. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Good morning! A longhorned male bee, Melissodes agilis, begins to move. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

During the day, the male Melissodes agilis species are quite territorial. Here one male M. agilis targets a monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

During the day, the male Melissodes agilis species are quite territorial. Here one male M. agilis targets a monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

International Pollinator Conference Comes to UC Davis

It's all about the pollinators--whether they be bumble bees, longhorned bees, squash bees, sweat bees, honey bees or hummingbirds. Yes, hummingbirds...

A longhorned bee flies over a Mexican sunflower blossom (Tithonia) in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A longhorned bee flies over a Mexican sunflower blossom (Tithonia) in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A squash bee, a specialist bee that forages on the genus Cucurbita, buzzes out of squash blossom in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A squash bee, a specialist bee that forages on the genus Cucurbita, buzzes out of squash blossom in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee (Apis mellifera) and a yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) share a flower on the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee (Apis mellifera) and a yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) share a flower on the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male Longhorned Bees: Boys' Night Out!

Boys' Night Out! Have you ever seen a cluster of longhorned male bees sleeping overnight on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)? Every day around...

Male longhorned bees, Melissodes, spending the night on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male longhorned bees, Melissodes, spending the night on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male longhorned bees, probably Melissodes agilis, begin to wake up after spending the night clustered on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male longhorned bees, probably Melissodes agilis, begin to wake up after spending the night clustered on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) in Vacaville, Calif. (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)

The Year 2017: 'Survival of the Flittest'

How would you describe the year 2017? Survival of the fittest? In the insect world, it's more like "survival of the flittest." If you've ever...

Have you ever seen a male long-horned bee (Melissodes agilis) doing a protective fly-by, trying to save a food source for the female of his species? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a male long-horned bee (Melissodes agilis) doing a protective fly-by, trying to save a food source for the female of his species? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a male long-horned bee (Melissodes agilis) challenging a Western tiger swallowtail seeking nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)?(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a male long-horned bee (Melissodes agilis) challenging a Western tiger swallowtail seeking nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia)?(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a Melissodes agilis targeting a Western tiger swallowtail? A tiger by the tail? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a Melissodes agilis targeting a Western tiger swallowtail? A tiger by the tail? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a syrphid fly targeting a honeydew-laden lady beetle, aka ladybug, on a rose? This is an Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) and a syrphid fly, a Scaeva pyrastri, according to Martin Hauser of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a syrphid fly targeting a honeydew-laden lady beetle, aka ladybug, on a rose? This is an Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis) and a syrphid fly, a Scaeva pyrastri, according to Martin Hauser of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a honey bee and bumble bee racing for the nectar on catmint (Nepeta)? The bumble bee is a Bombus melanopygus.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have you ever seen a honey bee and bumble bee racing for the nectar on catmint (Nepeta)? The bumble bee is a Bombus melanopygus.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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