Posts Tagged: Bodega
The Wooly Bears of Bodega
Ever seen the wooly bear caterpillar, Arctia virginalis, formerly known as Platyprepia virginalis? It's found in low elevations in western North America, from southern Monterey Bay, across Nevada and southern Utah to Colorado, and north to southern British...
A wooly bear caterpillar on ice plant at Bodega Head. This insect is Arctia virginalis, formerly known as Platyprepia virginalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
In its adult stage, the wooly bear caterpillar is commonly known as Ranchman's tiger moth, Arctia virginalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Ranchman's tiger moth, Arctia virginalis, in a bed of Globe Candytuft, Iberis umbellata, in a Vacaville garden. The plant is a member of the mustard family. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Portrait of a Yellowjacket
Who takes images of yellowjackets? What, nobody? I don't usually photograph yellowjackets because (1) I prefer to take images of their cousins, the honey bees and (2) yellowjackets are always moving. By the time I observe one, and raise the camera, the insect is long...
A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, peers at the photographer. It is on a Myoporum at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, shows its stripes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dorsal view of a western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Okay, I'm hungry. Enough posing!" A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, foraging on a Myoporum at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Breeze Blasts Bombus at Bodega Bay
Bodega Bay dawned cold and windy on Sunday, April 24. Windy? 27 mph! We didn't think we'd see a single bumble bee foraging on the blooming ice plants, poppies, wild radishes, or lupines, but there it was, a black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, nectaring on a yellow lupine near...
No wind today! A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, foraging on lavender in Vacaville, Calif., on May 16, 2017. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Well, Hello There, Queen Bumble Bee!
So, there she is, an out-of-season queen bumble bee, Bombus vosenenskii, nectaring on an equally out-of-season ice plant blossom at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay. The yellow-faced bumble bee bursts from a neon pink blossom in the video below. It's Oct. 19, 2022 and the temperature has...
A queen bumble bee, Bombus vosenenskii, sipping nectar from an ice plant at Bodega Bay on Oct. 19, 2022. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus vosenenskii, a native, departs a non-native, the invasive ice plant, Carpobrotus edulis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus vosenenskii, with the familiar yellow band on its abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue! And the Yellow...
Today is the Fourth of July, and what better time to proclaim: "Hurray for the red, white and blue!" And the yellow. On a camping trip last week to Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay, we admired our neighbors' display of American flags—bordered with a dozen honey bees. These bees,...
Hurrah for the red, white and blue! And the yellow. Honey bee mobiles were spinning in the wind at a Bodega Bay campsite. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
President George Washington liked honey bees--and the honey they produced--for his hoecakes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)