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LinkedInPosts Tagged: Gary Zamzow
Celebrating the New Year with Bumble Bees in Benicia
While folks from Alaska to Colorado to New York to Maine are shivering in freezing temperatures, here in sunny California--well, at least parts of the Golden State are sunny--bumble bees are foraging on winter blooms. Bumble bees? On the first day of the year? Yes. We spotted a dozen yellow-faced...
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, forages on New Year's Day, 2017, on jade at the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Check out the cream-colored pollen on this yellow-faced bumble bees, Bombus vosnesenskii, nectaring today (Jan. 1) on jade at the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bottoms up! A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, dips for nectar on a jade blossom in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The First Bumble Bee of the Year!
Remember that recently concluded contest to find the first butterfly of the year? Arthur Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis, annually sponsors the "Beer for a Butterfly" contest, offering a pitcher of beer for the first cabbage white butterfly (Pierae rapae) of...
A male three-banded bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, on manzanita on Jan. 27 in the UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Allan Jones)
Close-up of a male three-banded bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, on manzanita on Jan. 27 in the UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Allan Jones)
Got 'em!
"Got 'em!" That's the message we've all been waiting for. Several of us bumble bee enthusiasts--Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, photographers Allan Jones and Gary Zamzow of Davis, and yours truly--have been searching for the first bumble bee of the year...
Bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, foraging in manzanita on Feb. 12. (Photo by Allan Jones)
Bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, takes flight over a manzanita on Feb. 12. (Photo by Allan Jones)
An early Bombus sighting! Photographer Allan Jones of Davis grabbed this shot of a yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, in manzanitas on Feb. 12. (Photo by Allan Jones)
A Pollinator with a New Name
We're almost midway through National Pollinator Week! It's a week that we should celebrate every day. Last weekend we spotted a newcomer to our backyard bee garden: a bumble bee species, Bombus fervidus, formerly known as Bombus californicus, as identified by native pollinator specialist...
A female bumble bee, Bombus fervidus, heads for a purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus fervidus atop the purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Boy Bumble Bee
Don't you just love watching bumble bees? This morning we watched a yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) foraging on lavender. It moved quickly from one blossom to another, barely allowing us time for a "bee shoot." It was "bee gone" every time we aimed the camera. Finally, it...
A male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, appears to be "resting" on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Another view of the male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of the male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lavender is what it's all about. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Peek-a-bee! The male bumble bee peers over a blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
