Quick, what's the California state insect? Umm, does California have a state insect? The Monarch? The Western Tiger Swallowtail? The Red Admiral? Wait, isn't this National Pollinator Week? Should I know what the state insect is? Yes, it is National Pollinator Week.
It's the first day of summer and the beginning of National Pollinator Week. What could be better? This: Spotting a Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) sail through the pollinator garden and touch down on a butterfly bush (Buddleia).
Where have you been? For the last several weeks, we've been watching for signs of the first seasonal monarch caterpillar on our narrow-leafed milkweed. The lush leaves refused to yield any secrets. They looked untouched, undisturbed and intact.
Oh, that cuddly teddy bear. The male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, also known as "the teddy bear bee," comes around occasionally to nectar our broadleaf milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, in our pollinator garden.
We just met a male black-faced bumble bee, Bombus californicus. It was early morning and he was resting on a blanket flower (Gaillardia), a brilliant member of the sunflower family. When you're a bee, a blanket flower offers both bed and breakfast. Gaillardia was named after M.
