Pollinator Posts by May Chen

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

I pause at this stretch of the trail that features vibrant plantings of Perez’s Sea Lavender.   A small Digger Bee, Anthophora (Micranthophora) sp. (family Apidae) is foraging on an inflorescence of Perez’s Sea Lavender.   The

In anticipation of the forecast heat, I get to Bay Farm earlier than usual today.   A dew drop still clings to a colorful nymph of the Southern Green Stink Bug.  It is a later

A California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi peeks from the boulders of Shoreline Park at Bay Farm Island.  I toss it a few pieces of shelled walnuts from my pocket.  The squirrel immediately scurries over to pick

A small black wasp is flitting about on the sandy ground along the dirt path I walk at Bay Farm Island.  Everything about it is black, including its wings.  Its oversized, blockish head tells me

Emil leads us on a narrow sandy path that winds through salt grass, pickleweed, Jaumea, and Frankenia, strewn with beach wrack of rotting algae.  He spots a mating pair of Tiger Beetles, and immediately gets

Naomi takes me to her backyard to show me an Anise Swallowtail chrysalis.  She proudly points to the plant debris at the base of a robust Fennel, Foeniculum vulgare.  Do you see the chrysalis?  It takes

Naomi, Emil and I start our “bugging” adventure on the north eastern part of Bay Farm Island near the bridge.  This is where Emil and I have observed nesting activities of Sand Wasps and Summer

I have come to Alameda to pick Naomi up for our “bugging” adventure with Emil this afternoon.  Naomi has reported seeing 24 male Longhorn Bees, Melissodes sp. (family Apidae) sleeping in aggregation on the Elegant

For those who wrote me, thank you for your inquiries and well wishes.  My husband Fred is recovering well from his spinal surgery, and has been coming out with me to Bay Farm Island occasionally

Given the unhealthy air quality and a forecast of high temperatures, I am bound for the hills again this morning.  Maybe this will give me another opportunity to check out the Yellowjacket activity on the

I head up the Berkeley hills for the cooler temperatures and cleaner air this morning.  What better place to see insects this time of year than the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens?  The garden is well