Pollinator Posts by May Chen

An interested female Tree Cricket is approaching a male below her. The male turns around. She quickly turns away.  There are many other suitors she wants to check out…. Here’s a pair approaching each other

Excited by the prospect of seeing Blue, our Pale Swallowtail caterpillar for the last time before it wanders off to pupate, I arrive early at the garden while it is still shrouded in fog.  I

A good sized fly lands momentarily on the tip of a leaf of California Bay.  It is a Cluster Fly (family Polleniidae), an earthworm specialist. Called the Common Cluster Fly, Pollenia rudis (family Polleniidae) is slightly larger

I go on a late afternoon walk at Skyline Gardens, expressly to check on Blue, the Pale Swallowtail caterpillar. Along the little path to Skyline Trail from Siesta Gate, I meet a male Common Tree

A tiny yellow Inchworm is resting on a senescing flowerhead of California Goldenrod, Solidago velutina ssp. californica. Inchworms are also called loopers and measuring worms.  They majority of the inchworms are the larvae of moths

I have barely stepped into the garden through the Steam Train entrance when I am greeted by this charming little butterfly, the Field Crescent, Phyciodes  pulchella (family Nymphalidae).  It flutters in front of me, then

Against the backdrop of a California Bay leaf, a pale yellow spider, barely 3 mm long, has wrapped up a insect prey in silk in the middle of its orb web.  We are looking at

Our Two-tubercled Orbweaver Spider has outgrown her seed capsule on the Soap Plant, Chlorogalum pomeridianum.  Today she is resting on a 1-inch dried leaf she has attached to the seed capsule.  Did she have to

Along the paved road to the Radio Tower, dew drops have transformed the patch of dried California Phacelia into a magic kingdom.   This is but a slumber for the plant.  California Phacelia, Phacelia californica

As I am photographing our first Camouflaged Looper, my eyes are attracted to another one on a neighboring inflorescence.  See the pale patch near the tip?  Could that be another caterpillar in disguise? Yes, indeed,

As I step down from Siesta Gate to the short path that leads to Skyline Trail, I hear the distinct song of a Tree Cricket.  It’s almost 10 am.  What is a Tree Cricket doing,

Is that a new signage on the hill west of the paved road to the Radio Tower?  The place beckons to me with budding Fragrant Everlasting, Pseudognaphalium beneolens, and who knows what else in this

I make my way slowly to the Water Tank, checking on the plants along the road.  These slender, long-legged aphids, Uroleucon sp. (family Aphididae) like to feed on the stem of Coast Tarweed, Madia sativa

While photographing insects on the flowers of California Goldenrod, Solidago velutina ssp. californica I notice a small movement out of the corner of my eye.  It looks like a small cluster of flower debris quivering

Thanks to the sudden return of our summer fog, we finally get a reprieve from the air pollution that has been lingering over the Bay Area for days.  I am thrilled to find this elaborate

The Blister Galls are out of control on the California Goldenrod, Solidago velutina ssp. californica.  The galls, as well as caterpillars have exacted a heavy toll on the plants along Skyline Trail.  Many have simply

To avoid today’s forecast heat, I walk the northern section of Skyline Trail from the Steam Train entrance through the woodlands.   Look, that’s an old California Bay leaf that has been previously folded by

A Cluster Fly (family Polleniidae) lands on a leaf of Coyote Brush, its exoskeleton shining like a medieval armor. The large fly is still recognizable by its size and rounded abdomen, even though it has

I have wanted to visit Blue, the Pale Swallowtail caterpillar, but couldn’t do so for the past few days because of poor air quality.  (I am asthmatic and can’t risk being outdoors when PM2.5 is

A small, chunky insect is struggling mightily coming down the stem of a Coast Tarweed, Madia sativa.  With every step the insect takes, its legs get mired in the sticky exudates of the glandular hairs.

The few young Coast Tarweed, Madia sativa growing along the short path linking Siesta Gate to Skyline Trail have gathered quite a menagerie of insects, similar to the ones in the more mature stands at

Hey, that looks like the profile of a Common Tree Cricket, Oecanthus sp. (family Gryllidae) partially hidden behind a fading inflorescence of California Everlasting, Pseudognaphalium californicum.  The insects are often given away by their long,

I visit the garden in the late afternoon today after the worst of the heat has dissipated.   Near Siesta Gate, two adjacent leaves on the same California Mugwort, Artemisia douglasiana have been artfully webbed

Some of those three-sided folded leaves of California Bay are showing signs of senescence or feeding damage.   I decide to open one up.  All the edges have been seamlessly sealed with silk.   As