Pollinator Posts by May Chen

Not able to leave the house until mid afternoon, I opt for the shady little trail between the Padre and Laurel picnic areas in Tilden Regional Park.   What a surprise to see the change

I arrive at the Steam Train entrance to Skyline Gardens in late morning to find the California Phacelia, Phacelia californica abuzz with insects.  Notable among the bees is this scruffy, dull-colored bee about the size

A small bee with empty scopae is foraging on a flower of California Bee Plant, Scrophularia californica. She appears to have facial fovea, characteristic of the Mining Bees in the genus Andrena (family Andrenidae). Facial

Before I enter the cattle gate at the Steam Train entrance to Skyline Gardens, I pause at the large bushy California Bay Tree, Umbellularia californica.  It has put on many tender new leaves, some of

At Diablo Bend, the aphid infestation on the Silverleaf Lupine, Lupinus albifrons has calmed down.  I notice a group of aphids waving their rear ends frantically on a dried up inflorescence.  Then I see why

Entering Skyline Gardens through Siesta Gate at 2 pm, I am happy to see numerous Yellow-faced Bumble Bees foraging on the California Phacelia.  Other, smaller insects are also enjoying our bumper crop of phacelia this

It’s been a while since I last visited Inspiration Point in the Berkeley hills.  I am surprised to see how much of the vegetation has dried up.  The grasses are turning brown.  Gone are all

The California Bay Tree, Umbellularia californica that has been severely pruned back last season has put out some healthy, tender leaves tinged with red.  Young leaves in many plants are transiently red because of the

By the time I get to Siesta Gate of the Skyline Gardens, it is almost 10:30 am.  The large patch of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica is abuzz with Bumble Bees.  They are mostly Yellow-faced Bumble

The Oneleaf Onion, Allium unifolium is blooming profusely at the garden.   A small bee lands on a flower of Oneleaf Onion. It seems to have large mandibles.  Ooh, I think the bee might belong

The bloom season at the Tilden Regional Botanic Gardens is progressing so fast I am always shocked by how much I have missed since the last visit.   A Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Bombus vosnesenskii (family

Ooh, there’s a little bee in that Checkerbloom flower, Sidalcea malviflora!  Going down to the base of the corolla, she’s probably seeking nectar. Checkerbloom’s nectar is stored in the calyx, the cup formed by the

Seeking relief from the afternoon heat, I find myself in the green sanctuary of Tilden Regional Park.  The meadow at the Padre picnic area has been mown down, destroying some of my favorite California Buttercups.

A Honey Bee, Apis mellifera (family Apidae) is taking nectar from a flower of Wood Mint, Stachys ajugoides.   The plant in the mint family Lamiaceae is also known as Bugle Hedgenettle.  It is native

The weather conditions at the Skyline Gardens in the Berkeley hills can be vastly different from those of Oakland where I live, just 20 minutes away by car.  I have not expected the weather to

Susan leads me to the pond in the garden where she is studying aquatic plant life.  Around the small pond is this rare legume called the Loma Prieta Hoita, Hoita strobilina (family Fabaceae), endemic to

It’s time to visit the Regional Parks Botanic Garden again.  Checking on the California Pipevine, Aristolochia californica, I am delighted to find tiny caterpillars of the Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor (family Papilionidae).  I meet a

An insect resembling a Black-tailed Bumble Bee lands on an inflorescence of Pacific Nine Bark, Physocarpus capitatus in deep shade.  Its movements are slow and it stays a long time – rather unusual behavior for

I explore the Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park to avoid the excessive heat forecast for today.  Not far from the parking lot, the Pacific Ninebark, Physocarpus capitatus is blooming gloriously along the paved trail.   The

What I thought was a big insect on a Sticky Cinquefoil flower turns out to be a pair of Small Carpenter Bees mating! The male on the left is furiously fanning his wings the whole

At the Steam Train entrance to Skyline Gardens, the dwindling patch of California Buttercup, Ranunculus californicus is now overgrown with tall grasses.  A Spotted Cucumber Beetle, Diabrotica undecimpunctata (family Chrysomelidae) is perched on a buttercup flower.  The

A second species of Mule Ears has come into bloom to replace the Woolly Mule Ears that have gone to seed on the same hillside. This is the Narrow Leaf Mule Ears, Wyethia angustifolia.   The

Just south of Siesta Gate, the red nodding flowers of Western Columbine, Aquilegia formosa dot the steep slope along Skyline Trail. At first glance, a columbine flower looks like a Dr. Seuss creation.  Closer inspection

The black insect on the Tidy Tips flowerhead is what first caught my eye.  The male March Fly is in a jaws of a well-camouflaged Crab Spider, Mecaphesa sp. (family Thomisidae). Crab Spiders do not