Pollinator Posts by May Chen

I approach the Steam Train entrance to the Skyline Gardens this morning with excitement and trepidation.  The skies are still overcast, and the temperature low – I hope I get to see the male Mining

A small Crane Fly dances unsteadily in front of me, then lands on a Bee Plant leaf.  It is a Limoniid Crane Fly. Related to the Large Crane Flies (family Tipulidae), the Limoniids are medium

An adult female Pacific Black-legged Tick, Ixodes pacificus is resting on a flower of Wild Cucumber, Marah oregana. ‎www.publichealth.lacounty.gov-eh-docs-safety-lyme-disease-california.pdf A small spider is resting on a terminal leaf of Sticky Monkeyflower, Diplacus aurantiacus.  There appears

It’s wonderful to be out at Skyline Gardens after a rainy day.  Rain drops are still clinging to the Snowberry leaves near Siesta Gate.   A few flower spikes of the Woodland Star, Lithophragma affine

As rain is in the forecast for the next couple of days, I feel the urgency to check for insect activities at Skyline Gardens before being house-bound again.  It is cold, cloudy, and a little

Probably overlooked by most visitors to the garden, another inconspicuous plant is blooming with small yellow flowers along Skyline Trail.  It is the American Wintercress, Barbarea orthoceras (family Brassicaceae). The perennial herb is native to

On the way home from the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens, I pass the Skyline Gardens and decide to make a quick stop to check on the plants in bloom here, taking the paved road up

I arrive early at the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens hoping to find some hawk moths still out foraging.  No such luck.  But there are many botanical treasures to savor here. The various Alumroots, Heuchera sp. (family

To avoid muddy trails, one of my first choices for a walk after a series of rain is the Nimitz Trail at Inspiration Point in the Berkeley hills. Ah, that lush patch of Miner’s Lettuce

Its proboscis extended, a Sedgesitter, Platycheirus sp.(family Syrphidae) is getting ready to feed on a Wild Mustard flower that is yet to fully open.     Platycheirus is found in grass and herb vegetation.  Adults of many

Leaving the garden, I take a leisurely walk along Bridgeview Trail.   A Spined Soldier Bug is resting in a sunlit spot on a leaf of Bedstraw.  The Spined Soldier Bug, Podisus maculiventris (family Pentatomidae) is a common

I have a slow start, but manage to get to the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens in late morning.   While all the male catkins of Silk Tassel, Garrya elliptica have all but withered in the

I visit the Bridgeview Pollinator Garden in Oakland early this afternoon.  I have not set foot in this garden for more than 2 years, and it is sad to find the place weedy and unkempt.

On this sunny afternoon, I am exploring the north end of the Skyline Garden, from the Steam Train Entrance.   Near the cattle gate, a few more California Buttercups, Ranunculus californicus have come into bloom

A beautiful warm morning at Skyline Gardens.  The picture is taken from the paved road to the Water Tank. Who’s that tiny insect resting on a California Phacelia leaf?  Its back view does not look

I love the immature flowerheads of the Cobweb Thistle, Cirsium occidentale.  They appear to be wrapped in spider web.  What is the function of the webbing?  To deter insects?  To regulate temperature of the flowerhead?

The two big Silverleaf Lupine, Lupinus albifrons near the Eucalyptus grove just south of the Radio Tower are blooming beautifully.  A huge Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, Bombus vosnesenskii (family Apidae), undoubtedly a queen, is buzzing around the spikes of flowers,

An Argentine Ant is roaming the flower buds of a Wild Cucumber, Marah oregana. The Argentine Ant, Linepithema humile (family Formicidae) is native to Northern Argentina, but it has been inadvertently introduced by humans to many countries, and

I decide to go for an afternoon walk at the Sequoia Arena in Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland hills.    There’s a big, healthy patch of Miner’s Lettuce, Claytonia perfoliata.  Time to look for

While photographing the Hybotid Dance Flies on the Miner’s Lettuce, I notice a movement in the clovers close to me – it’s a winged ant!  Not only that, it is female – a queen or

Andy and I amble along the fast-running creek towards the waterfall at Cascade Canyon, enjoying the lush flora and insect fauna.   Most of the Western Hound’s Tongue, Adelinia grandis are past their prime, but

Andy and I are thrilled to explore the Cascade Canyon Open Space Preserve in Marin County this warm, sunny day. Near the entrance gate, there is a large Western Mountain Mahogany, Cercocarpus betuloides (family Rosaceae)

Winds are not in the weather forecast, so I am rather surprised to be met by strong gusts as I climb the hill on the paved road at Skyline Gardens this morning.  No self-respecting insect

Before I walk through the cattle gate at the Steam Train entrance to the Skyline Gardens, I stop to watch a coyote saunter through the grassy field and disappear behind the Coyote Brushes.  Cool!  Not