Posts Tagged: Phacelia
A Bumble Bee Ballet
Ever watched a bumble bee ballet? Bumble bees may look clumsy in flight, but they get the job done. We recently marveled at the yellow-faced bumble bees, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on lacy phacelia, Phacelia tanacetifolia, on the UC Davis campus. This is a native...
A yellow-faced bumble bees, Bombus vosnesenskii, heads for Phacelia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Packing red pollen, this yellow-faced bumble bee targets another Phacelia blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Buzzing and never missing a beat, this bumble bee is a study in movement. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A bumble bee ballet ends where another one begins. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Hidden Treasure at UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day
Talk about those tenacious tidy tips. And those picture-perfect phacelias. When you attend the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 15, you'll see these California natives blooming in the Biological Orchard and Gardens (BOG), a 24,000-square-foot treasure behind the UC Davis...
A honey bee foraging on a desert bell, Phacelia campanularia, an annual herb that is native to California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A sign defines the Biological Orchard and Gardens (BOG). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bumble Bees: Pollen Power in the Phacelia
Talk about pollen! The bumble bees, Bombus vandykei (as identified by Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis), were buzzing all over the Phacelia last week on the central campus. One bumble bee carried a heavy load of orange pollen...
It's mine--move away! Two bumble bees, species Bombus vandykei, seek the same Phacelia blossom on the UC Davis central campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Check out the heavy load of pollen on this bumble bee, Bombus vandykei. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Phacelia is a plant that native bees, including this native bumble bee, Bombus vandykei, love. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Saddle bags of pure gold? No, golden pollen carried by the Bombus vandykei. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
California Wildflowers, April Bee Garden Plant of the Month
The April bee plant of the month is not one plant. Instead it is the many California wildflowers that are bloom from late winter through spring, reaching their peak in early April. These plants lovely to look at and they give a uniquely California feel to a garden. Some also provide critical bee...
Going Native
The first thing you notice when you walk up to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis, are the natives. Native plants, that is. California golden poppies and phacelia are among the plants sharing the "Pollination Habitat" bed. The golden poppies...
Bumble bee, Bombus vandykei, foraging on phacelia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of bumble bee, Bombus vandykei. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Competition for the phacelia! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)