Posts Tagged: sunflower bee

Native Bee, Native Flower, Sunny California

Just a day in the life of a native bee on a native flower in native California. Svastra obliqua expurgata, also called "the sunflower bee,"...

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, heads for a Coreopsis. Both are natives to California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, heads for a Coreopsis. Both are natives to California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Start here...the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, begins to forage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Start here...the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, begins to forage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Clockwise works for this sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Clockwise works for this sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, hello, there! The sunflower bee, Svastra, looks up at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, hello, there! The sunflower bee, Svastra, looks up at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Life Is Not Always Sunny for the Sunflower Bee

Life is not always sunny for the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua, a native longhorned bee. The gals have trouble foraging when a...

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Life is good, the pollen is better. But that's about to change for this female sunflower bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Life is good, the pollen is better. But that's about to change for this female sunflower bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bullet of a bee is heading toward the foraging sunflower bee. He means business. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bullet of a bee is heading toward the foraging sunflower bee. He means business. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Scram! The male Melissodes agilis scores a direct hit on the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. This image was shot at 1/8000 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Scram! The male Melissodes agilis scores a direct hit on the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. This image was shot at 1/8000 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm outta here! The sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, quickly departs for another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm outta here! The sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, quickly departs for another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Watch Out, Below!

"Summertime, and the livin' is easy," belted out Ella Fitzgerald. She wasn't singing about bees, but she could have been. Summertime, and the...

A male sunflower bee, Melissodes agilis, keeps a wary eye out as she forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male sunflower bee, Melissodes agilis, keeps a wary eye out as she forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ah, bliss. A male sunflower bee, Melissodes agilis, is head first in the pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ah, bliss. A male sunflower bee, Melissodes agilis, is head first in the pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male sunflower bee, Melissodes agilis (as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, in a territorial challenge. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male sunflower bee, Melissodes agilis (as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, in a territorial challenge. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Colors of Pollinator Week

As we near the end of celebrating National Pollinator Week, June 16-22, look around and see all the insects foraging on reddish-orange flowers. And...

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) spreads its wings on a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) spreads its wings on a purple coneflower(Echinacea purpurea) (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sunflower bee (Melissodes agilis) forages on a blanket flower (Gallardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sunflower bee (Melissodes agilis) forages on a blanket flower (Gallardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A green bottle fly rests on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A green bottle fly rests on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) on a blanket flower (Gallardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) on a blanket flower (Gallardia) (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A leafcutting bee, Megachile fidelis, on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A leafcutting bee, Megachile fidelis, on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All About Pollination

Pollination--what should we know? How can we attract pollinators to our gardens and agricultural landscapes? Rachael Long, Yolo County farm advisor...

Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Leafcutting bee, Megachile fidelis, on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Leafcutting bee, Megachile fidelis, on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Read more