Pollinator Posts by May Chen

Among the leaf litter under the trees, I spot reddish bumps on a dried Poison Oak twig.  Slime mold sporangia? I am stumped by what appears under the macro lens.  iNaturalist has helped identify these

I visit Skyline Gardens in the Berkeley hills this morning.  Entering through the Steam Train entrance, I realize how much I have missed this place.    Plants have greened up beautifully.  I breathe with ease

It is wildly windy at Joaquin Miller Park, I am surprised to find when I arrive this sunny morning.  I can barely keep my hat on my head.  There won’t be any insects in flight

I have delightful company today at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in the Berkeley hills!  Spencer and Ryan, entomology undergraduate students from Cornell University are visiting family in the Bay Area over the winter holidays.

It is unusual to see a Yellowjacket wasp that is not busy doing something.  Why is this Yellowjacket resting stock-still among the Manzanita foliage?  It’s also unusual to see a Yellowjacket so early in the

When I arrive this morning, the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden appears to have been drenched by a rain shower.  I am on the lookout for any plant in bloom. The Santa Catalina Island

I am rather surprised to see a scruffy California Buckwheat, Eriogonum fasciculatum still in bloom by the side of the road.  Battered by the storms, the cluster of bedraggled flowers are devoid of pollen. California

  The rains have finally stopped and the sky has cleared.  I rejoice in the wetness around me as I walk along Sanborn Drive in Joaquin Miller Park this morning.       I do

I head for the Regional Parks Botanic Garden in the Berkeley hills on this cool, sunny morning.  The garden abounds in Manzanita (genus Arctostaphylos), which are early bloomers.  This is where I’m most likely to

I walk the shoreline of Bay Farm late this morning.  As usual, I pause at this large Coyote Brush to check for insects.  Even in the dead of winter, the shrub continues to amaze me

After a series of rain that lasted for days, I am happy to be back walking the shoreline trail at Bay Farm Island.   Neon green vegetation has sprouted quickly with the rains, and isolated

  We had mild, persistent rain yesterday, first of a series that is forecast to last through the end of the year.  I am taking my walk this morning at Joaquin Miller Park in the

  Seeking fresh air and sunshine, I find myself in the small park across from the Tilden Steam Train parking lot.  I walk barefoot to ground myself, then sit down in the sun to take

  It’s a cold, crisp morning at the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden.  Temperatures hover below 50 degrees F when I arrive around 10 am.  I wish I have worn my gloves!   Most

After a whole day of drenching rain yesterday I am happy to be back walking along the shoreline of Bay Farm Island this morning.  The air is sparkling clean. Cumulus clouds loom over the San

It’s extreme high tide at Crab Cove at 10:45 am.  The boat ramp is flooded. This is the highest tide I have seen here.  It suddenly dawns on me that it’s full moon tomorrow, and

Seeking clean air, I head up the hills to Inspiration Point in Berkeley to walk the Nimitz Trail.   Most of the female Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis along the trail are already dispersing their plumed

 In the habitat garden of the Bay Farm Island Library the Bush Sunflower, Encelia californica is still in bloom. An American Sand Wasp, Bembix americana (family Crabronidae) is taking nectar on an Encelia flowerhead.   Sand wasps in the

I was thrilled to read about a pollinator garden installed on the grounds of the Bay Farm Island Library.  Since it is not far from Shoreline Park where Fred and I take our regular walks,

A Fiery Skipper, Hylephila phyleus (family Hesperiidae) is taking nectar on a Zinnia flowerhead. Skippers are a family, the Hesperiidae, of the order Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths).  They are named for their quick, darting flight habits.  Most

A bright, clear morning in Alameda.  I approach Craig and Jenny’s house with excitement.  Their well-irrigated garden is probably one of the last places I’ll find significant insect activity this year.   Sure enough, just

Anticipating a hot day, I take my walk on the shady Bridal Trail in the Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park this morning.  While nothing is in bloom now, there’s still plenty of insect activity on the

Another beautiful afternoon at Bay Farm Island.   The Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta along the shoreline is fading, but I am hopeful that I’ll still find some interesting insects on these plants.   Wow, that’s a huge Thick-headed

A tiny glint of gold on a ray petal of an Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta alerts me to the presence of a Buttonhook Leafbeetle Jumping Spider, Sassacus vitis (family Salticidae). Jumping spiders (family Salticidae) are free-roaming hunting