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Pollinator Posts by May Chen

  • Pollinator Post 6/26/24 (1)

    I take a walk along Sanborn Drive in Joaquin Miller Park on this relatively cool morning.  I am glad that the brush clearing along the paved road has spared the nice stand of California Yampah,

  • Pollinator Post 6/26/24 (2)

    Who’s this bee on the flowerhead of Hayfield Tarweed, Hemizonia congesta?  A male with long antennae and no scopae on the hind legs?  iNaturalist’s AI has suggested a Sweat Bee, Lasioglossum (family Halictidae).  I am

  • Pollinator Post 6/25/24 (2)

    Perched on a cluster of flowerheads of California Everlasting, a Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus (family Lycaenidae) is rubbing its hind wings together continuously.   Why the name “hairstreak”?  These small butterflies have a slim, hair-like tail on

  • Pollinator Post 6/25/24 (1)

    It’s a cloudy morning, a respite from the oppressive heat of yesterday.  The air is muggy with humidity, rather unusual for a California summer.   I find myself walking the paved road from Siesta Gate.

  • Pollinator Post 6/23/24

    I recently heard about the volunteer-tended native garden in Mendocino Park in Richmond, and decide to visit the place this morning.  It is a 0.4 acre suburban park in the hills of Richmond, consisting of

  • Pollinator post 6/21/24 (2)

    There is a plant in Stefanie’s backyard that is an insect magnet.  The Plumas Purple Aster, Symphyotrichum x “Plumas Purple” is a low, dense form of the Pacific Aster, Symphyotrichum chilense.  It is propagated from

  • Pollinator Post 6/21/24 (1)

    It’s always fun to explore Stefanie’s home garden in San Leandro.  The late blooming natives continue to support a diversity of insects through the summer.  The large flowers of the Hooker’s Evening Primrose, Oenothera elata are

  • Pollinator Post 6/20/24 (2)

    There is a massive Prickly Pear Cactus, Opuntia sp. (family Cactaceae) growing right next to the Morning Glory I am observing.  It is past its peak bloom, with only a flower bud and a fully

  • Pollinator Post 6/20/ 24 (1)

    The Tilden Regional Parks Botanic Garden warrants frequent visits while the flowers are cycling through the seasons.  You never know what is in store each time you visit.   The Bewildering Bushmallow, Malacothamnus arcuatus is

  • Pollinator Post 6/19/24

    Kathy has kindly arranged for me and another friend, Ben to visit a beautiful home garden in Richmond with her.   The strip along the curb is lushly planted, and still floriferous.  Hey, isn’t that

  • Pollinator Post 6/17/24 (1)

    On my walk in Joaquin Miller Park today, I come across some California Honeysuckle, Lonicera hispidula that are blooming beautifully at the tips of the drooping vines.  I pause to appreciate the flowers, but do

  • Pollinator Post 6/17/24 (2)

    A Mason Bee, Osmia sp. (family Megachilidae) is taking nectar on a Hairy Gumweed flowerhead, Grindelia hirsutula. The little bee is simultaneously taking nectar and collecting pollen by gently and rapidly tapping her abdomen on

  • Pollinator Post 6/14/24 (2)

    A Diamond Spottail, Fazia micrura (family Syrphidae) lands on a California Poppy, Eschscholzia californica.  The species is easily identified by the four diamond-shaped yellow markings near the tip of the abdomen.  Hover Flies, also called flower flies

  • Pollinator Post 6/15/24

    I decide to go for an evening stroll along the northern section of Skyline Trail, entering through the Steam Train gate at about 6:30 pm.  The night-blooming Soap Plant, Chlorogalum pomeridianum has started to bloom,

  • Pollinator Post 6/14/24 (1)

    I take a walk in Joaquin Miller Park this morning.  The Hayfield Tarweed, Hemizonia congesta is blooming nicely among the dried grass along Sanborn Drive. Several Yellow-faced Bumble Bees, Bombus vosnesenskii (family Apidae) are visiting

  • Pollinator Post 6/13/24 (2)

    A Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Bombus vosnesenskii (family Apidae) is foraging on the flowers of Coffeeberry, Frangula californica.   I wonder if the pollen in her pollen baskets is from the plant? The bee is diving

  • Pollinator Post 6/13/24 (3)

    This appears to be another Sweat Bee, Halictus sp. (family Halictidae) foraging on a flowerhead of English Daisy.   The bee has not been collecting pollen and the scopae on her hind legs are empty.

  • Pollinator Post 6/13/24 (1)

    At the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, I venture off on a little-used side trail flanked by French Broom.  Most of the plants are now in seed.  A shiny little spider is resting on a seed

  • Pollinator Post 6/12/24 (3)

    The flowers on the same Clarkia plant can look distinctly different.  Clarkia is a classic example of a protandrous flower, with male reproductive parts maturing before the female parts.  The younger flower on the top

  • Pollinator Post 6/12/24 (1)

    Before I enter the Tilden Regional Parks Botanic Gardens this morning, I am greeted by California Grape, Vitis californica blooming gloriously on the chainlink fence by the gate.  Wow, all these flowers, and not a

  • Pollinator Post 6/12/24 (2)

    A robustly-built bee is foraging in a flower of Farewell-to-spring, Clarkia rubicunda.  iNaturalist has identified the bee as a Chimney or Turret Bee, Diadasia sp. (family Apidae, tribe Emphorini).  Note that the flower has had

  • Pollinator Post 6/10/24 (1)

    I arrive at the Skyline Gate staging area in late morning to walk the West Ridge Trail.  It’s been 10 days since I last saw the weak showing of the Fairy Longhorn Moths on the

  • Pollinator Post 6/10/24 (2)

    I spot something glistening on a Sticky Monkeyflower, Diplacus aurantiacus.  Closing in, it is a bubble of liquid held in the jaws of a little bee.  Is this a female Masked Bee, Hylaeus sp. (family

  • Pollinator Post 6/9/24 (1)

    Entering Skyline Gardens through the Steam Train entrance a little before 10 am, I am delighted to find the blooming California Phacelia, Phacelia californica abuzz with Yellow-faced Bumble Bees, Bombus vosnesenskii (family Apidae). A tiny bug