Pollinator Posts by May Chen

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

An inflorescence of Yarrow, Achillea millefolium seems to be writhing with what look like small, shiny black, elongated insects.  They are very active and fast moving.  It is difficult to see one clearly.   These are

Hey, there’s a new bee in the garden!  Fast and furious, it buzzes around the inflorescences of California Phacelia, Phacelia californica.  Built like a bumble bee, it is chuncky, but is a plain gray-brown all

There is little insect activity on the Cobweb Thistle, Cirsium occidentale growing on the side of the road to the Water Tank.  Not much has changed with the Syrphid pupa. The American Winter Ants are

A wet bee seems to have just woken up and is grooming itself on a floral umbel of Cow Parsnip, Heracleum maximum.  It appears to be a Cellophane Bee, Colletes sp. (family Colletidae). The bee