Pollinator Posts by May Chen

Air pollution has cleared up nicely in the afternoon and the sun is shining.  Joyfully I head up to the Regional Parks Botanic Gardens. Its tongue extended, a Bluebottle Fly, Callifphora sp. (family Calliphoridae) is feeding on

12/22/24  Regional Parks Botanic Gardens.  The bright red swellings on the edges of the leaves of a manzanita catch my eyes.  I recognize them as the leaf galls induced by the aphid, Tamalia coweni (family Aphididae).  Much

Happy New Year!   Those of us with manzanitas in our garden would have noticed that the plant has been in bloom for a while, even before Christmas.  Whenever the weather and air quality permitted,

A cool, crisp day after an early morning rain.  Everything looks refreshed at Shoreline Park this morning. Dark aphids dot the leaves of a weedy Mallow by the trail.   Turning over a leaf I

A Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus (family Lycaenidae) has landed to take nectar from a cluster of unidentified flowers near the side walk.  The lower corner of its right hind wing has sustained some damage, probably from a

Anita shows me the young Coast Live Oak in Mendocino Park that is merely a shrub.  The tips of the branches have been badly defoliated by the caterpillars of the California Oak Moth.   Many

It has come to my attention that there is an outbreak of California Oak Moth in the El Cerrito – Richmond area.  I asked Anita, an avid volunteer at the Mendocino Park in Richmond whether

I head up the hills as air quality is acceptable only at higher elevations this morning.  Time to visit Inspiration Point in the Berkeley hills.  Some of the Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis might still be in

It’s a cool, calm morning at Shoreline Park on Bay Farm Island.  The yellows of the Grindelia flowers have given way to the reds of the Fleshy Russian Thistle, Salsola soda along the shoreline.  

Another beautiful morning by the bay.  I am picking up exactly where I left off yesterday afternoon, walking along a rather dry stretch of Shoreline Trail with only the tough native Telegraphweed, Heterotheca grandiflora  in

Although it is not our preference, Fred and I have come to Bay Farm for a rather late walk at 3:15 pm.  The cool breezes from the bay makes the afternoon heat tolerable.  I wonder

The Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta along the shoreline of Bay Farm Island is winding down its season.  I see fewer fresh flowers everyday.   While there are fewer large insects to find among the Grindelia,

The day is forecast to be windy with high fire risk, but the morning seems calm and pleasantly sunny.  I figure I should go for a walk at Bay Farm while the going is good.

Before I even ring Stefanie’s doorbell, I have already found the Praying Mantis egg case on the Manzanita in her front yard.  Stefanie has recently told me that the ootheca was discovered by the pruning

Most of the Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta along the shoreline have gone to seed.   Unlike many members of the sunflower family Asteracea, the seed heads of Grindelia are not the adorable fluffy puffballs.  Grindelia

A female Margined Calligrapher, Toxomerus marginatus (family Syrphidae) lands on a blade of grass.   Toxomerus marginatus, also known as the Margined Calligrapher is a common species of hoverfly found in North America.  These are

I am thrilled to find a female Summer Longhorn Bee, Melissodes sp. (family Apidae) foraging on a Grindelia flowerhead.  With the plant fast fading along the shoreline, the specialist longhorns who are dependent on the

Another beautiful fall day at Shoreline Park, Bay Farm Island.  I barely got the the trail when I spot a female Western Leafcutter Bee, Megachile perihirta (family Megachilidae) out foraging on the Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia

An Orange Sulphur butterfly is taking nectar from a flowerhead of Oregon Gumweed, Grindelia stricta in a field of mostly faded flowers.  These butterflies always perch with their wings tightly closed.   The Orange Sulphur, Colias

It’s time to pay a visit to the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Gardens in the Berkeley hills.   Insect activity has quieted down considerably.  A scruffy Skipper butterfly (family Hesperiidae) is taking nectar from

A Common Checkered-Skipper, Burnsius communis (family Hesperiidae) lands on the leaf litter by the trail.   Because of its small size, bluish color, and spread-wing posture, the butterfly is often mistaken for one of the

Another beautiful morning at Shoreline Park, Bay Farm Island. Barely a glint on the Grindelia flowerhead, the tiny shiny jumping spider is by now instantly recognizable as the Buttonhook Leafbeetle Jumping Spider or the Grapevine

I visit Skyline Gardens this afternoon, walking the stretch of Skyline Trail between the Steam Train entrance and Siesta Gate.  There is little in bloom now, but I am curious about the insect life on

A male Western Leafcutter Bee, Megachile perihirta (family Megachilidae) lands on a Grindelia flowerhead.  It is startling to see how tenuously his abdomen is connected to his thorax.  The narrow section between the thorax and