Pollinator Posts by May Chen

Sarab and I explore the north shore of Bay Farm Island this afternoon.  A butterfly enthusiast, Sarab wishes to photograph the Western Pygmy Blue butterflies known to be abundant along this shoreline.  We are happy

I am thrilled to find a Collops beetle on the stem of a Bristly Oxtongue that is infested with aphids.  To my surprise, instead of feeding on the aphids, the male is actually fussing with

A calm, placid morning at Shoreline Park that is forecast to heat up soon.   A female Summer Longhorn Bee, Melissodes sp. (family Apidae) is out foraging in a dense patch of Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia

11:59:46 am Still wet with frothy bubbles, a Spittlebug nymph, Clastoptera lineatocollis (family Clastopteridae) has crawled out of its foamy shelter on a Grindelia stem.  It is heading up the involucre of the faded flowerhead

As I usually walk on the dirt path by the water where the Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta grows, I have totally overlooked this patch of sparsely vegetated ground at Shoreline Park.  The ground is sandy,

I pause by a Bristly Oxtongue, Picris echioides that is heavily infested with dark aphids.  There are individuals of all ages and sizes on this branch.  There’s even a mama giving birth to a baby

10:53 am  A scruffy old male Summer Longhorn Bee, Melissodes sp. (family Apidae) is still asleep, clinging upside down to a terminal leaf of Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta.  Unlike the females, the males do not

When Fred and I arrive at Shoreline Park for our walk this afternoon, we discover that the place is experiencing extreme high tide.  The stones along the shoreline are almost submerged, and waves are lapping

There is still time for a walk at Shoreline Park in the afternoon.   Brisk winds are blowing, and I have to brace the Grindelia flowerheads with my left hand to take pictures of the

Naomi has kindly arranged for me to visit a home garden in Oakland that she tends.  As the morning is forecast to be cloudy, I don’t expect to see much insect activity.  While waiting for

The sun has finally come out in the early afternoon.  To get some sunshine, Fred and I have been taking our walk at Bay Farm in the afternoon the past few days. A female Summer

On the way home from Bay Farm, I decide to stop by the sidewalk strip in Alameda planted by Naomi.  Maybe the male Longhorn Bees are ready to settle down for the evening?   The

It is cool and cloudy all over the Bay Area, but at least the sun is peeking out here at Bay Farm Island, where I am once again walking through the Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta.

Hey, I recognize that abdomen with the thick broken white bands!  It belongs to the California Digger-cuckoo Bee, Brachymelecta californica (family Apidae).  The bee is taking nectar from a flowerhead of Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta at Shoreline

A male Summer Longhorn Bee, Melissodes sp. (family Apidae) is asleep on a Grindelia flowerhead.  Although the sun has come out in the afternoon, it has been cloudy, cool, and windy most of the day.

Since it was cool and cloudy all morning, Fred and I didn’t make it to Shoreline Park until afternoon to enjoy a couple hours of sunshine.   A Small Carpenter Bee, Ceratina sp. (family Apidae)

There are numerous Cellophane Bees dancing over the flowers of a female Coyote Brush.  Since I have previously photographed these bees, I turn my attention elsewhere.  Who are these minute flies perched on the plant?

Fred and I don’t get to Shoreline Park for our walk until late morning.  As usual he walks the paved path, and I veer off on the dirt path along the water where the Grindelia

Passing the fading Fennel at Shoreline Park on Bay Farm Island, I check for the Lady Beetle pupa I found a couple of days ago.  Yes it is still there, and it hasn’t eclosed yet.

A Margined Calligrapher, Toxomerus marginatus (family Syrphidae) is foraging on the succulent style base of a Fennel flower.  Do these flowers still produce nectar after they have shed their petals?   Toxomerus marginatus, also known as the

Elizabeth, Emil and I are excited to be out exploring the northern shoreline of Bay Farm Island this sunny afternoon.  Emil leads us on a narrow path through the low vegetation strewn with stranded algae.

A Soldier Fly, Odontomyia sp. (family Stratiomyidae) is foraging on the flowerheads of a female Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis.   Members of the genus Odontomyia occur throughout much of the world, found in woodlands, fields, usually near

As soon as I arrive at the Sea View Park this morning, I decide to first visit the spot where I found a concentration of the Summer Longhorn Bees, Melissodes sp. (family Apidae) yesterday.  Sure

There’s a golden flash on an umbel of spent Fennel flowers.  I am looking at the iridescent abdomen of a female Jumping Spider, Sassacus vitis (family Salticidae).  Sassacus vitis is native to North America, with a range