Pollinator Posts by May Chen

A worker Black-tailed Bumble Bee, Bombus melanopygus (family Apidae) is foraging on the flowers of Otay Mountain Ceanothus, Ceanothus otayensis near the front gate of the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens.  The species is the first

I walk the Nimitz Way at Inspiration Point in the Berkeley Hills this cold, crisp morning. I clamber up a steep bank along the road to check out this wild Pink-flowering Currant, Ribes sanguineum blooming

Seeking refuge from air pollution, I find myself at the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens again on this cold, overcast morning, with temperatures in the mid 40s F. An unfamiliar species of Osoberry, Oemleria sp. has

A Dance Fly is perched on a manzanita flower.  Its proboscis is thick and short; its legs are sturdy, probably raptorial.  A predatory Dance Fly in the family Empididae? Dance Flies, in the family Empididae,

As an asthmatic, I am resigned to let air quality dictate where and when I venture outdoors on a daily basis.  It seems I am heading for higher elevations again this morning – to the

On a grassy slope next to Sanborn Drive, a Wild Cucumber, Marah sp. has reared its sinuous vines in a radiating circle.  I have been looking forward to this.  After the first rains, the perennial

I take a walk along Sanborn Drive in Joaquin Miller Park this clear, cold and windy morning.   Near the parking lot, old fallen logs have been left to rot on the roadside in unsightly

I have come to the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Gardens to check for pollinators on the Fetid Adder’s Tongue, Scoliopus bigalovii in the redwoods section I found on my last visit on 1/11/24. This

I pay a visit to Mendocino Park in Richmond, a native garden run by dedicated volunteers from the neighborhood.  Taking a quick walk around the garden, I am disappointed that none of the native plants

Hanging upside-down from a cluster of manzanita flowers, a queen Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, subgenus Pyrobombus (genus Bombus, family Apidae) is taking nectar from a flower.   Tender new vines of the California Pipevine, Aristolochia californica have

It is a joy to visit the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens again this clear winter morning.  The garden has been closed last week for maintenance. As I approach a large Monterey Cypress, Hesperocyparis macrocarpa by

I take my morning walk at the Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland hills today.   Walking along the fence of the FOSC Native Plant Nursery on Sanborn Drive, I am happy to see that

It is ironic that while catastrophic fires are raging in Southern California, the Bay Area is enjoying some of the best air quality we have had in a while.  Fred and I decide to take

I am compelled to head up the hills again this morning because of poor air quality in the lower elevations.  It’s time to revisit the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve in the Oakland hills.   I

Air pollution has cleared up nicely in the afternoon and the sun is shining.  Joyfully I head up to the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens. Its tongue extended, a Bluebottle Fly, Callifphora sp. (family Calliphoridae) is feeding on

12/22/24  Regional Parks Botanic Gardens.  The bright red swellings on the edges of the leaves of a manzanita catch my eyes.  I recognize them as the leaf galls induced by the aphid, Tamalia coweni (family Aphididae).  Much

Happy New Year!   Those of us with manzanitas in our garden would have noticed that the plant has been in bloom for a while, even before Christmas.  Whenever the weather and air quality permitted,

A cool, crisp day after an early morning rain.  Everything looks refreshed at Shoreline Park this morning. Dark aphids dot the leaves of a weedy Mallow by the trail.   Turning over a leaf I

A Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus (family Lycaenidae) has landed to take nectar from a cluster of unidentified flowers near the side walk.  The lower corner of its right hind wing has sustained some damage, probably from a

Anita shows me the young Coast Live Oak in Mendocino Park that is merely a shrub.  The tips of the branches have been badly defoliated by the caterpillars of the California Oak Moth.   Many

It has come to my attention that there is an outbreak of California Oak Moth in the El Cerrito – Richmond area.  I asked Anita, an avid volunteer at the Mendocino Park in Richmond whether

I head up the hills as air quality is acceptable only at higher elevations this morning.  Time to visit Inspiration Point in the Berkeley hills.  Some of the Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis might still be in

It’s a cool, calm morning at Shoreline Park on Bay Farm Island.  The yellows of the Grindelia flowers have given way to the reds of the Fleshy Russian Thistle, Salsola soda along the shoreline.