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LinkedInPosts Tagged: Peponapis pruinosa
Thank the Squash Bee on Thanksgiving
If you're having pumpkin pie or butternut squash this Thanksgiving, thank the squash bee. Squash bees are specialists (not generalists) that pollinate only the cucurbits or squash family, Cucurbitaceae, which includes pumpkins, squash, gourds, cucumbers and zucchini. Last summer...
A squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, pollinating a squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a squash bee,Peponapis pruinosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Happy National Squash Bee Day!
In case you missed it, today was National Pumpkin Day. But it ought to be National Squash Bee Day, because the squash bee (my favorite species is Peponapis pruinosa) is an important pollinator of squash and pumpkins. A little bit about the squash bees: Squash bees are specialists; not...
Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, inside a squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Why the Squash Bee Is Important
Peponapis pruinosa isn't your common household word. But among the people who study pollinators, it is. Also known as a squash bee, it is an important pollinator of cultivated crops of squash, pumpkins, and others members of the genus Cucurbita. Enter Katharina Ullmann, a graduate...
Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, on a squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, is a specialist, pollinating only the Cucurbita genus. (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 and director of the Yolo County Cooperative Extension program, has lined up a group of outstanding speakers at her Pollination Workshop on...
Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa. (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)
Squash Blossom Special
Male squash bees know just where to sleep--inside a squash blossom. If you're growing squash and you head out to your garden just after sunrise, you'll probably see the males fast asleep, waiting for visiting females to arrive. They're native bees, specialist bees that forage in squash, zucchini,...
Male squash bee nestled inside a squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male squash bee wide awake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of tongue of male squash bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
