Pollinator Posts by May Chen

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

At 10 am, parts of the Skyline Trail under trees are still wet with fog drip.  It can get surprisingly wet up here, even without rain. Hey, fresh drillings by Sapsuckers on the bark of

A Syrphid Fly (family Syrphidae) lands on a California Phacelia flower, Phacelia californica to feed on pollen.  Are those hairs on its labellum (sponging mouthpart)?  Saliva is released from the labellum to help dissolve and

Near Siesta Gate, more clusters of white flowers have appeared on the patch of Pacific Ninebark, Physocarpus capitatus.  A dark, bristly fly is visiting the flowers of Pacific Ninebark.  It is a Woodlouse Fly, Stevenia deceptoria (family Rhinophoridae).

Hey, a new visitor to the Yarrow flowers, Achillea millefolium!  It is a Weevil Wasp, Cerceris sp. (family Crabronidae).  Cerceris is easily recognizable from the abdominal segments that are constricted very strongly at the junctures,

I am glad I didn’t turn back before reaching Diablo Bend.  I would’ve missed the aphids on the Silverleaf Lupines.  For a while, I have thought that the initial aphid infestation on the plants in

I have come to the Skyline Gardens in the afternoon, hoping it would be sunny and warm.  Boy, am I wrong!  It is cold and foggy up here in the hills, and the wind is

In shady, moist locations along Skyline Trail near the Siesta Gate, the Pacific Ninebark, Physocarpus capitatus has started to bloom.  The dense deciduous shrub in the rose family is native to western North America.  The

What a pretty rear end! A Malachite Beetle, Malachius auritus (family Melyridae, subfamily Malachiinae) is exploring an inflorescence of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica. The Malachite Beetle (subfamily Melachiinae) is a member of the family of Soft-winged

A Metallic Sweat Bee, Lasioglossum (Dialictus) sp. (family Halictidae) is collecting pollen from a flower of Sticky Cinquefoil, Drymocallis glandulosa.   Dialictus is a subgenus of sweat bees belonging to the genus Lasioglossum (family Halictidae).

Preferring a more shady habitat, the Broadleaf Lupine, Lupinus latifolius blooms later than the Silverleaf Lupines, Lupinus albifrons.  A Black-tailed Bumble Bee, Bombus melanopygus is foraging on a spike of flowers of Broadleaf Lupine.  

On this warm, sunny afternoon, bee activity is on full throttle in the patch of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica at Siesta Gate.  It’s great to see so many Yellow-faced Bumble Bees, Bombus vosnesenskii out foraging.

A small orange insect is partially hidden in an inflorescence of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica.   A side view shows a rather flat body. Close-up of the beetle shows a large black heart-shaped marking on