Posts Tagged: red hot poker

It's No Vegetarian

Bee specialists like to point out that the yellowjacket is a carnivore and the honey bee is a vegetarian. They are, indeed. The yellowjacket is an aggressive predator that seeks protein-rich foods for its colony, while the honey bee--usually quite passive unless it's defending its hive--gathers...

Western yellowjacket (Vespula penyslvanica) heading toward a red-hot poker (but this variety is yellow). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket (Vespula penyslvanica) heading toward a red-hot poker (but this variety is yellow). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket buries its head in a tubular flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket buries its head in a tubular flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket foraging. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket foraging. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket assumes the shape of a comma. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket assumes the shape of a comma. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bottoms up--western yellowjacket moves away from the camera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bottoms up--western yellowjacket moves away from the camera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's Up, Cuz?

Country cousins.  Honey bees and ants belong to the same order, Hymenoptera, and occasionally you see them together. Such was the case today in the Storer Garden, UC Davis Aboretum, as the closely related honey bees and ants foraged in the red-hot poker (Kniphofia galpinii or "Christmas...

Honey Bee and an Ant

HONEY BEE and an Argentine ant share a red-hot poker in the Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Nectaring on Lavender

HONEY BEE nectars a red hot poker, while a close cousin, an Argentine ant (far left), tucks itself among the petals. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Good Dose of Christmas Cheer

Definitely a good dose of Christmas Cheer!In the plant world, that would be the Kniphofia “Christmas Cheer," also known as "red-hot poker." On a visit last week to the Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum, we encountered a lone honey bee foraging among the Christmas Cheer. This one probably came from...

Foraging

A SOLITARY HONEY BEE forages among the Christmas Cheer, also known as Knipofia "Christmas Cheer' or "red-hot poker." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cleaning Her Tongue

HONEY BEE on the Christmas Cheer takes time to clean her tongue. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Christmas Cheer

CHRISTMAS CHEER (Kniphofia) or "red-hot poker" is a UC Davis Arborteum All-Star. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Christmas Cheer

I always thought the red-hot poker was primarily red. Not. This one in the Storer Gardens at the University of California, Davis, was mostly yellow. It was Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, five days before Christmas, and a lone honey bee, packed with pollen, was heading for the red-hot poker, variety...

Honey Bee

BEELINE--A pollen-packed honey bee makes a beeline for a red-hot poker, variety "Christmas Cheer," in the Storer Gardens at UC Davis. The date: Dec. 20, five days before Christmas. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Red-Hot Poker in Storer Gardens

RED-HOT POKER--The red-hot poker, variety "Christmas Cheer," brightens the Storer Gardens at UC Davis. A bench awaits visitors. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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