Pollinator Posts by May Chen

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

After the rain two days ago, I am ready to explore Skyline Gardens again.  The air is cool and fresh, and everything seems to sparkle. The road up to the Radio Tower from Siesta Gate

Her tongue extended, a Honey Bee, Apis mellifera (family Apidae) is taking nectar from a flower of Wood Mint, Stachys ajugoides.  Four stamens stand upright in front of the upper lip of the fresh Stachys flower.

Accompanied by a friend, I am heading to the newly restored site at the Swale this morning. A Graphic Owlet Moth, Drasteria edwardsii (family Erebidae, subfamily Erebinae) is taking nectar from Fringed Phacelia flowers, Phacelia

A Sweat Bee, Halictus sp. (family Halictidae) descends the corolla of a Globemallow, Sphaeralcea sp. in search of nectar at the base of the petals. As the bee climbs back up, her body is smeared

I am very fortunate to have been invited to a private preview of several native gardens to be featured in this year’s Bringing Back the Natives Garden Tour.  Today, we visit the gardens in San

A male Golden-haired Miner Bee, Andrena auricoma (family Andrenidae) is reaching into a Bee Plant flower to take nectar.  The species is found in the Western U.S., and is relatively rare outside California.  It is

I am back at Skyline Gardens this morning, hoping to spend more time observing the nesting Mining Bees at Siesta Nose.   Passing the shrinking patch of California Buttercups, Ranunculus californicus near the Steam Train

  It’s almost noon when I get to Siesta Nose.  Small insects are flying low to the ground, occasionally landing on the trail.  These are little bees (about 5 mm long) carrying bright yellow pollen

A tiny iridescent green wasp lands on a pea pod of Silverleaf Lupine, Lupinus albifrons.  For a wasp that size, I suspect a parasitoid right away.   The wasp has been identified by iNaturalist as