Posts Tagged: bees
Zeroing in on Honey Bees
The next seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology promises to be of great interest to bee scientists, beekeepers, and all those who want to learn more about honey bees. An international leader in honey bee research--Juliana Rangel Posada--will speak on "Don't...
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No Labor Day Holiday for the Honey Bees
Holiday? What holiday? It's Labor Day, but honey bees aren't relaxing. They're out in force collecting nectar, pollen, water and propolis. Ever seen them weighted down with huge pollen loads? They seem to have "Herculean strength," don't you think? That's what Norman "Norm" Gary,...
A honey bee packing a huge load of orange pollen from zinnias as it heads for another blossom in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee, its wings a'buzzing, slips through the petals of a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All finished here. Next zinnia here I come! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bumble Bees: Feeling Impact of Climate Change
We remember the reaction of Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology and an international authority on bumble bees, when he spotted a lone Western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis, on Aug. 15, 2012 in the Mt. Shasta area. Its...
UC Davis research shows that rising temperatures are particularly alarming to some bumble bee species, including the Western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis. This one was located on Aug. 15, 2012 in the Mt. Shasta area. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis researchers found that one of "the winners" in their climate change study is the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, shown here heading for a California golden poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male bumble bee, Bombus bifarius, nectaring on coastal goldfield, Lasthenia minor, at Bodega Bay. A UC Davis study shows that the rising temperatures are particularly alarming to a number of species, including this one. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Svastra: the Sunflower Bee
It's nicknamed "the sunflower bee" for good reason. It forages on sunflowers. We recently spotted a longhorned bee, Svastra obliqua, also called "the sunflower bee," on Gaillardia, aka blanket flower, a member of the sunflower family, Asteracease. Asteraceae is comprised of...
Svastra obliqua, "the sunflower bee," foraging on a blanketflower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Why It's Called a 'Boys' Night Out'
Ever seen the male longhorned bees, Melissodes agilis, zipping around your garden, trying to bump all critters, large and small, off of "their" blossoms? They own them, ya' know. These male bees are SO territorial. We've seen them target honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter...
A horizontal view of male Melissodes bees sleeping on a lavender stem. Image taken just after dawn in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's up, sleepy head? A sleepy male Melissodes agilis bee begins to stir at dawn. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)