Posts Tagged: natural resources

Bumble Bees at Bodega Bay: Lovin' the Lupine

What a beautiful sight...a yellow-faced bumble bee, a queen, foraging on yellow bush lupine blossoms at Bodega Bay. She buzzed from blossom to...

A queen yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on yellow bush lupine at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay. Note the bright red pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A queen yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on yellow bush lupine at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay. Note the bright red pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The queen yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, heads for another yellow bush lupine blossom at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay. "Bombus" is derived from a Latin word meaning buzzing or a humming sound. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The queen yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, heads for another yellow bush lupine blossom at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay. "Bombus" is derived from a Latin word meaning buzzing or a humming sound. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the head and thorax of a queen bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of the head and thorax of a queen bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Mantis on the Milkweed

So here's this immature praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis, in a Vacaville...

A camouflaged praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A camouflaged praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Praying mantis perched on a milkweed, the host plant for monarchs. She seems to be saying: "Sure, I'm occupying a milkweed, but I promise I'll never even LOOK at a monarch. I'll close my eyes should one flutter by." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Praying mantis perched on a milkweed, the host plant for monarchs. She seems to be saying: "Sure, I'm occupying a milkweed, but I promise I'll never even LOOK at a monarch. I'll close my eyes should one flutter by." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The mantis keeps an eye out for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The mantis keeps an eye out for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The mantis assumes the prayerful position--let us prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The mantis assumes the prayerful position--let us prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Art of the Bee

Thought for the day... Every time we see a honey bee "posing perfectly" on a Gaillardia, commonly known as blanket flower, we think of a quote by...

A honey bee on a blanketflower, Gaillardia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee on a blanketflower, Gaillardia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Behold: the Banded Alder Borer

So there it was, an exotic-looking bug resting against a freshly painted red bollard at a Vacaville supermarket. It was not there to shop. Or to...

The banded alder borer is attracted to fresh paint, probably because of the phermone-like scent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The banded alder borer is attracted to fresh paint, probably because of the phermone-like scent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris, crawls on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris, crawls on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. It's a longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. It's a longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye with a banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye with a banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Digging the Digger Bees and the Newly Published Research

Have you ever seen the digger bees on the sandy cliffs of Bodega Head, Sonoma County? if you hike a short distance up a meandering trail,...

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides standfordina, heading to her nest at Bodega Head. Note the ant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides standfordina, heading to her nest at Bodega Head. Note the ant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

At Bodega Head you can see turrets made by solitary, ground-nesting digger bees, Anthophora bomboides standfordina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

At Bodega Head you can see turrets made by solitary, ground-nesting digger bees, Anthophora bomboides standfordina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides standfordina, nectaring on wild radish. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides standfordina, nectaring on wild radish. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Here I am! Anthophora bomboides standfordina, at Bodega Head, Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Here I am! Anthophora bomboides standfordina, at Bodega Head, Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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