Pollinator Posts by May Chen

After a crazy week of brutal heat, Fred and I are happy to resume our daily walk at Shoreline Park on Bay Farm Island this morning.   Numerous small insects are dancing low over the

Anticipating a hot day, I seek the coolness of Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in the Oakland hills this morning. I barely left the parking lot when I encounter numerous small insects swarming over the leaf

A Western Aphideater, Eupeodes fumipennis (family Syrphidae) has landed on a flowerhead of Bristly Oxtongue, Helminthotheca echioides.   The hoverfly is found in western North America, mostly seen March through October.  As the common name

Avoiding the extreme heat and poor air quality, I have not visited the Shoreline Park at Bay Farm Island for the past few days.  I arrive early today to avoid the heat, curious to see

The black-and-yellow pattern on the abdomen of that hover fly is so distinctive one can identify it immediately.   It is the Oblique Streaktail, Allograpta obliqua (family Syrphidae). Close-up of the same fly.   The Oblique Streaktail,

Fred and I are taking our regular walk at Shoreline Park on Bay Farm Island this afternoon.   The first insect I spot is this pollen covered Summer Longhorn Bee, Melissodes sp. (family Apidae) resting

In Stefanie’s backyard, a tiny spider is running on the ray petals of a Bush Sunflower, Encelia californica.  I am ready to call it a Zebra Jumper, until I notice that it has pale translucent legs,

It’s been a while since I last visited Stefanie’s home garden in San Leandro.  I wonder how it is faring in the fall? Huge bunches of ripe berries droop on the large Blue Elderberry in

The only places in the East Bay with good air quality this morning are in the hills.  I decide to take a walk at Inspiration Point up in the Berkeley hills.  The vegetation along the

On an afternoon walk at Shoreline Park, Bay Farm Island, I come across a Small Carpenter Bee, Ceratina sp. (family Apidae) foraging on a Grindelia flowerhead.   The Small Carpenter Bee genus Ceratina is closely related to

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