- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
What insects did you see during the Solar Eclipse, dubbed "The Great North American Eclipse?" And what were they doing?
In some parts of North America, as the moon passed between the earth and sun, folks saw a total solar eclipse. But here in Solano County, California, totality it was not.
Partial.
We watched the Great North America Eclipse as the moon took a tiny bite out of the sun.
And then a queen bumble bee buzzed into our pollinator garden just as the moon helped itself to another bite.
Bite of the moon or bite of the bumble bee?
Game over.
The bumble bee won (well, just for a few minutes) and then we returned to the solar eclipse.
The bumble bee appeared to be a Bombus californicus. And she was hungry.
If she had experienced a total solar eclipse, she may have immediately returned to her nest: "It's dark. Day over."
![A queen bumble bee, probably a Bombus californicus, forages on a Coreopsis during the April 8th solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A queen bumble bee, probably a Bombus californicus, forages on a Coreopsis during the April 8th solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/105995.jpg)
![Brace yourself! A bumble bee appears to hold up a petal of the Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Brace yourself! A bumble bee appears to hold up a petal of the Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/105996.jpg)
![A little twist here, a little twist there. The bumble bee adjusts. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A little twist here, a little twist there. The bumble bee adjusts. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/105997.jpg)
![The end! The bumble bee is unaware of the photographer--or the solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) The end! The bumble bee is unaware of the photographer--or the solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/105998.jpg)