Pollinator Posts by May Chen

It’s a cloudy and calm morning.  After dropping Fred off for his walk at Bay Farm, I make a bee line to the patch of Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta at the end of Aughinbaugh Way.

Overlooked by most passersby, the Pacific Glasswort or Pickleweed, Salicornia pacifica along the shoreline of Bay Farm is in bloom! Pacific Pickleweed may be perfect, monoecious or dioecious. This plant appears to be female with

The air has finally cleared this morning, and I can breathe easy again as I take my walk along the shoreline of Bay Farm. A Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus (family Hesperiidae) has landed to take

Back to my beloved Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta on the shoreline of Bay Farm.  The white foamy masses of Spittlebugs seem to be increasing in number every day. A Sedgesitter, Platycheirus sp. (family Syrphidae) is

It’s a calm morning at Crab Cove.  I have come to walk this familiar stretch of beach which appears to be all mine today. As I sit down to take off my shoes, a small

Along the shoreline of Bay Farm, extensive patches of the Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta are infested with Spittlebugs whose young create these white spittle-like masses as they feed on the plant.  I train my eyes

Since the Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta started to bloom along the shoreline of Bay Farm, I have never had a dull moment on my walks here.  One of the few native plants in this altered habitat

A Bristle Fly, Archytas marmoratus (family Tachinidae) has landed on a cluster of Coyote Brush flowers.   The family Tachinidae is by far the largest and most important group of parasitoid flies.  All species are parasitic

It’s almost noon, but the skies are still overcast over Bay Farm.  At least the air is clean and I can breathe with ease! An unfamiliar bee is foraging on some weedy flowers by the

This picture was taken in mid-April this year.  Things have not changed much at this wind-swept spot on the north shore of Bay Farm – the same shrubs are here, the Coyote Brush (Baccharis pilularis),

I revisit the patch of sick Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta and find more of their torturers, the Lace Bugs, Corythuca sp. (family Tingidae).  The bristly, black creatures are the wingless nymphs.  Underneath the fancy, lacy wings and hoods,

It’s high tide at Bay Farm when I arrive in the early afternoon.  The little patch of beach I usually frequent is nearly inundated.   A black-and-white male Leafcutter Bee, Megachile sp. (family Megachilidae) has

It’s a cool morning at Bay Farm Island.  A female Fine Striped Sweat Bee, Agapostemon subtilior (family Halictidae) is forcing her way into a half-opened flowerhead of Bristly Oxtongue, Helminthotheca echioides.  She is already carrying

I walk the extra distance at Bay Farm today to visit the two native shrubs along this shoreline – the Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis, and Coffeeberry, Frangula californica.  Although dead branches still stand as reminders

A male Fine Striped Sweat Bee, Agapostemon subtilior (family Halictidae) is taking nectar on a flowerhead of Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta.   Agapostemon are brightly colored metallic green or blue bees measuring 7 to 14.5 mm

I venture out to Bay Farm this morning at the first sign that our smoke-tainted air has cleared somewhat.  An American Sand Wasp, Bembix americana (family Crabronidae) is foraging on one of the last flowers

I pause at this spot on Shoreline Trail to watch insects swarming low over the vegetation along the trail.  it’s an absolute pandemonium!  It’s only when a few of the insects land that I realize

The worst of our heat wave is over, but dirty air still hangs over the Bay Area from the various wildfires burning to the north of us.  Having been cooped up for days, I am

I spend the rest of the morning exploring the native garden at Crab Cove.  An American Sand Wasp, Bembix americana (family Crabronidae) is taking nectar on an inflorescence of Red-flowered Buckwheat, Eriogonum grande var. rubescens.

  I arrive early at Crab Cove and head straight to the spit stretching into Ballena Bay to check on the blooming Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta growing by the water. The sky is heavily overcast,

It’s a mild summer morning at Bay Farm Island.  The shoreline is ablaze with the sunny blooms of Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta.   Oregon Gumweed – Calscape At 11:20 am, a Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, subgenus

In the native plant garden at Crab Cove, a jet-black, stocky bee is foraging on the anthers of a very fresh Bush Poppy flower, Dendromecon rigida.  It is a Small Carpenter Bee, Ceratina sp. (family

It’s time for me to visit Crab Cove in Alameda again.  The season has gone by so fast I wonder what plants are still in bloom in the park.   St. Catherine’s Lace, Eriogonum giganteum

The Holm Oak, Quercus ilex at the Shoreline Park on Bay Farm Island has produced an impressive crop of small acorns.  Native to the Mediterranean region, the evergreen oak has been pruned and shaped into