Pollinator Posts by May Chen

Sticky Monkeyflower, Diplacus aurantiacus is blooming gloriously along Skyline Trail overlooking the fog-shrouded Siesta Valley down below.     Hey, a day doesn’t go by now when I don’t find an Ant-mimic Plant Bug nymph,

It is still foggy in the hills when I get to Diablo Bend around noon. The Silverleaf Lupine, Lupinus albifrons is producing a healthy crop of pea pods, despite the low number of bumble bee

I have not expected the place to be so foggy and cold when I arrive at Siesta Gate at 9:30 am . Will I see anything in this fog?  Will photography be possible? A Convergent

2:30 pm.  A Small-headed Fly, Eulonchus sp. (family Acroceridae) is sheltering in a flower of the Sticky Monkeyflower, Diplacus aurantiacus.  As far as is known, all Acroceridae are parasitoids of spiders.  Not just any spiders,

Waiting for the clouds to clear, I don’t get to Siesta Gate until 2:30 pm.  A loud buzzing around a California Phacelia, Phacelia californica alerts me to the presence of a Digger Bee, Anthophora sp. (family

I check for the American Lady caterpillar that I found two days ago on the California Everlasting, Pseudognaphalium californicum.  It is not on the plant.  In fact, one major branches of the plant has collapsed,

I am glad I couldn’t make it to Skyline Gardens until late this afternoon.  If I have come earlier, I would’ve missed this special treat – the blooming of Soap Plant along Skyline Trail! Soap

The cloudy morning necessitates an afternoon outing again.    How time flies!  The Pacific Ninebark, Physocarpus capitatus is already in fruit!  The globular clusters of white flowers have been replaced by reddish 3 to 5-chambered

Wow, so fortunate to come across an American Lady caterpillar, Vanessa virginiensis (family Nymphalidae) feeding out in the open on a California Everlasting, Pseudognaphalium californicum.  For the past two weeks, I have been observing the half

A pair of Soldier Beetles, Cultellunguis americanus (family Cantharidae) is mating while moving around on an inflorescence of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica.  The female is dragging along the docile male lying on his back, looking rather uncomfortable.

After the light rain shower in the late morning, I decide to check for insect activity at the Skyline Gardens in the afternoon. Although it is still overcast, temperatures are in the 60’s, and many

Hey, I recognize that – it’s the Yellow-legged Wood Fly, Blera humeralis (family Syrphidae) I found for the first time a few days ago on Cow Parsnip! Hover Flies, also called Syrphid Flies make up the

It’s a few minutes before 4 pm, and a Small-headed Fly, Eulonchus sp. (family Acroceridae) has already settled down in its overnight roost – the floral tube of a Sticky Monkeyflower, Diplacus aurantiacus.  Note the

Look, a parasitoid wasp with a long ovipositor is roaming all over an inflorescence of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica!  The morning promises to be an exciting one. The Braconid Wasp (subfamily Agathidinae, family Braconidae) has

The golden flowers of the Sticky Monkeyflowers greet the morning sun along the paved road to the Radio Tower.  The white, two-lobed stigmas are very visible on these flowers, located right at the entrance to

The combination of the blooming Indian Paintbrush and Ithurial Spear makes for a stunning display. A tall and lanky Cobweb Thistle, Cirsium occidentale on the edge of the trail is blooming nicely.  Having seen Thistle

The season is advancing fast.  One can almost tell time by how much the scorpionoid cymes of the Calfornia Phacelia, Phacelia californica have uncoiled.  Long rows of fruits are developing along the straightened cymes below

A female Masked Bee, Hylaeus sp. (family Colletidae) is foraging on an inflorescence of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica. Hylaeus (family Colletidae) are shiny, slender, hairless, and superficially wasp-like bees.  They are small, 5 to 7 mm

The tiny, black, shiny Rove Beetles (family Staphylinidae) continue to frolic on the flowerheads of Yarrow, Achillea millefolium along Skyline Trail.  They are most often seen with their rear ends sticking up from the flowerheads.

The fruits of Wood Strawberry, Fragaria californica are ripening in the undergrowth along the road.  When a strawberry flower is pollinated, the fruit doesn’t swell.  The fertilized ovaries in the flower form separate, small, dry fruits.  Those

The clearing fog reveals the rear end of an insect with its head buried deep inside a flower of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica.  The insect is so enthralled with Phacelia’s nectar, I have to wait

A Field Ant, Formica subpolita (family Formicidae) is foraging on the trail.   Formica is a genus of ants of the family Formicidae, commonly known as wood ants, mound Ants, thatching Ants, and field Ants. Formica ants tend to be

It’s still cold (temperatures in the high 50s) and foggy when I arrive at Siesta Gate at 10 am.   A wet Honey Bee, Apis mellifera lies motionless on a cluster of Cow Parsnip flower,

Its wings held up high, a Mining Bee, Andrena sp. (family Andrenidae) makes a stop on a flower of Sticky Cinquefoil, Drymocallis glandulosa.  A frontal shot of the bee’s face showing the facial fovea is