Pollinator Posts by May Chen

On the steep bank along the paved road to the radio tower, Woolly Mule’s Ears, Wyethia helenioides are blooming gloriously.   Peering into a young flowerhead, I discover something I have missed before  – the ray flowers

It is past noon by the time I return to the Steam Train entrance.  Temperatures have risen significantly, and there’s more insect activity around the patch of California Buttercups, Ranunculus californicus.  The sun-tracking flowerheads of

I am taking the shortest and easiest route to the Swale this fine morning.  It’s hard not to stop to admire this robust patch of Common Fiddleneck, Amsinckia intermedia along the paved road.   It’s

I scramble down the steep slope at the Backbone area to get a better look at this stunning red Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja affinis. The bright red flowers of the Indian Paintbrush, Castilleja affinis can be spotted from

Pacific Sanicle, also known as Pacific Snakeroot, is blooming in profusion along Skyline Trail from the Steam Train entrance.  Hardly anyone pays attention to this inconspicuous plant as its flowers are tiny.  It is in

The short stretch of Skyline Trail through Diablo Bend is a walk through purple paradise.   Silverleaf Lupine, Lupinus albifrons is blooming gloriously, to add to the unrivaled scenery with a view of Mt. Diablo. For

The Steam Train entrance to the Skyline Gardens is lit up with colors!  The California Poppy has finally opened its flowers on this sunny morning.   Half-hidden among the lupines is a spectacular flowerhead of

I stop by a Common Vetch, Vicia sativa that is teeming with ants.  There is but a single unopened flower bud; what is all the excitement about? An American Winter Ant, Prenolepis imparis is feeding

The caterpillars of the Variable Checkerspot butterfly, Euphydryas chalcedona are easy to spot – they tend to congregate on the top of the California Bee Plant, Scrophularia californica where they feed on the tender leaves.

A Winter Ant, Prenolepis imparis is reaching under the stamens of a Wood Strawberry flower. Fragaria vesca to access the nectary underneath.   Native to North America, the Winter Ants are generalist omnivores that nest

The Common Fiddleneck, Amsinckia intermedia along the paved road to the Water Tank is putting up quite a show. I still see an occasional male alates (winged reproductives) of the American Winter Ants, Prenolepis imparis

Three caterpillars of the Variable Checkerspot butterfly, Euphydryas chalcedon (family Nymphalidae) are basking on a leaf of California Bee Plant, Scrophularia californica.  While the larvae of this species tend to feed in aggregation, it is rather

Along Skyline Trail, the wood ferns, Dryopteris arguta on the moist banks are unfurling their fronds.   The young fiddleheads of Wood Fern appear to be covered with a plastic wrap that breaks up in

The five petals of of Common Fiddleneck, Amsinckia intermedia are fused into a tube for most of their length, then separating into broadly glaring, rounded lobes.   A bee fly’s eye view, looking down the throat

The afternoon is cloudy and warm (low 60s F).  It has rained lightly yesterday, and the air feels humid. Just a stone’s throw from Siesta Gate, along the edge of the paved road, numerous Winter

Temperatures are in the high 40’s when I arrive at Siesta Gate this morning. The insects have not appeared on the California Barberry on the rocky hillock.  Not distracted by pollinator activities, I spend some

Popcorn Flowers, Plagiobothrys nothofulvus (family Boraginaceae) carpet the floor of the grassy slope at Diablo Bend, providing a beautiful backdrop for the blooming Silverleaf Lupines.   The flowers of Plagiobothrys nothofulvus generally bloom from February-April.  As in

It is a sunny, warm (almost 60 degrees F) afternoon at Skyline Gardens, and the trail is longer muddy.    A blaze of yellow beckons to me to a newly restored rocky hillside east of

A male alate (winged reproductive) of the American Winter Ant, Prenolepis imparis is perched on a flower cluster of Blue Dicks, Dipterostemon capitatus at Diablo Bend.  This is a second alate I have come across this

Some Blue Dicks, Dipterostemon capitates are blooming nicely at Diablo Bend, attracting some bees and flies.  A queen Yellow-face Bumble Bee pays a quick visit to the flowers, her weight causing the cluster to bend down

Backlit by the sun, dozens of little green aphids can be seen within the coiled flowerhead of a Common Fiddleneck, Amsinckia intermedia. It seems the flowerheads are the hub of aphid activity on this Common

The latest outpour of the atmospheric river has drenched Skyline Garden.  At Siesta Gate, sections of Grizzly Peak Blvd has water running on the surface.  The Silverleaf Lupine, Lupinus albifrons is still covered with rain

The weather this morning is a repeat of yesterday – cold and cloudy, with temperatures hovering around 50 F.  I don’t expect to see much insect activity, but surely this view from the paved road

What an unusual Miner’s Lettuce!  Probably the Red Miner’s Lettuce, Claytonia rubra?  Although the perfoliate leaf looks brown and parched, it is actually succulent to the touch!  It is not a senescent leaf, just colored