Bug Squad

Hap-bee Thanksgiving! If you're having cranberries, squash, pumpkins, carrots, cucumbers (and pickles) onions, grapefruit, oranges, apples, pears, cherries, blueberries, sunflowers and almonds, you can thank the honey bee.

I slipped into the back yard today to see how many honey bees were nectaring the lavender, one of the few plants still blooming. A few here. A few there. That's when I saw her. A bee the color of pure gold. And she was carrying a load of pollen that was equally pure gold.

In a way, it's "tea for two." The New Zealand tea tree, Leptospermum scoparium, aka "manuka," "tea tree," and "Leptospermum," is a favorite of the light brown apple moth AND honey bees. We captured images of bees on Leptospermum scoparium keatleyi recently in Sausalito.

Picture this. A light rainstorm strikes the garden, pummeling and shredding some of the blossoms. As the rain lets up, a honey bee buzzes into a rock purslane blossom for a sweet shot of nectar. She is not alone. If you look closely, you'll see three green aphids on an unopened blossom next to her.

Humans aren't the only calendar pin-up models. Think native bees. Think the 2010 Native Bees Calendar. The Xerces Society and the Great Sunflower Project have joined forces to produce a calendar showcasing 12 commonly found native bees.