Pollinator Posts by May Chen

A small wasp with very long antennae has landed on the sunlit leaflet of a fern frond.  A parasitoid wasp in the superfamily Ichneumonoidea?  iNaturalist has suggested the genus Odontocolon (family Ichneumonidae). The Ichneumonidae, also

It’s been a while since I last walked the West Ridge Trail in the Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park in the Oakland hills.  I hope the trail has had time to dry out after all the

Near the visitor center, the patch of Oregon Grape, Mahonia aquifolium (family Berberidaceae) is putting up quite a show.  Bright lemon-yellow flowers have started to bloom atop bronze-red foliage.  Woody-stemmed and spreading by rhizomes, the evergreen

It’s a beautiful, sunny morning at the Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Berkeley.   The Osoberry, Oemleria cerasiformis is blooming profusely, with clusters of white flowers hanging on every tip and node of the branches.  

Right in the middle of the trail, tiny pellets of soil surround the entrance of two adjacent ant nests.  I put down a penny for scale.   On my knees and using the macro lens,

An Osoberry, Oemleria cerasiformis by the trail is starting to bloom!  The plant is easily recognizable by the small white flowers that hang in droopy clusters from the tips of the stems.   About half a

At Skyline Garden this morning, I walk the Skyline Trail from Siesta Gate heading south.  Surely there must be some early blooms now? Though past its floral prime, the California Bay, Umbellularia californica is still

I feel the urge to check on the Wild Cucumbers, Marah species at Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland hills.   I easily locate the robust Coast Manroot, Marah oregana under the Monterey Pines by

I have the privilege of visiting a large private property in the Claremont Hills in Berkeley this morning.  The land has been kept predominantly wild, and naturally abounds in native plants.   Since the deer

Under the redwood canopy, the vibrant green spotted leaves of Fetid Adder’s Tongue, Scoliopus bigelovii show up conspicuously despite the dim light.  The leaves have expanded and flared out from the center of the individual

A worker Black-tailed Bumble Bee, Bombus melanopygus (family Apidae) is foraging on the flowers of Otay Mountain Ceanothus, Ceanothus otayensis near the front gate of the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens.  The species is the first

I walk the Nimitz Way at Inspiration Point in the Berkeley Hills this cold, crisp morning. I clamber up a steep bank along the road to check out this wild Pink-flowering Currant, Ribes sanguineum blooming

Seeking refuge from air pollution, I find myself at the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens again on this cold, overcast morning, with temperatures in the mid 40s F. An unfamiliar species of Osoberry, Oemleria sp. has

A Dance Fly is perched on a manzanita flower.  Its proboscis is thick and short; its legs are sturdy, probably raptorial.  A predatory Dance Fly in the family Empididae? Dance Flies, in the family Empididae,

As an asthmatic, I am resigned to let air quality dictate where and when I venture outdoors on a daily basis.  It seems I am heading for higher elevations again this morning – to the

On a grassy slope next to Sanborn Drive, a Wild Cucumber, Marah sp. has reared its sinuous vines in a radiating circle.  I have been looking forward to this.  After the first rains, the perennial

I take a walk along Sanborn Drive in Joaquin Miller Park this clear, cold and windy morning.   Near the parking lot, old fallen logs have been left to rot on the roadside in unsightly

I have come to the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Gardens to check for pollinators on the Fetid Adder’s Tongue, Scoliopus bigalovii in the redwoods section I found on my last visit on 1/11/24. This

I pay a visit to Mendocino Park in Richmond, a native garden run by dedicated volunteers from the neighborhood.  Taking a quick walk around the garden, I am disappointed that none of the native plants

Hanging upside-down from a cluster of manzanita flowers, a queen Yellow-faced Bumble Bee, subgenus Pyrobombus (genus Bombus, family Apidae) is taking nectar from a flower.   Tender new vines of the California Pipevine, Aristolochia californica have

It is a joy to visit the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens again this clear winter morning.  The garden has been closed last week for maintenance. As I approach a large Monterey Cypress, Hesperocyparis macrocarpa by

I take my morning walk at the Joaquin Miller Park in the Oakland hills today.   Walking along the fence of the FOSC Native Plant Nursery on Sanborn Drive, I am happy to see that

It is ironic that while catastrophic fires are raging in Southern California, the Bay Area is enjoying some of the best air quality we have had in a while.  Fred and I decide to take