- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Published on: July 14, 2023
Just a day in the life of a native bee on a native flower in native California.
Svastra obliqua expurgata, also called "the sunflower bee," absolutely loves Coreoposis californica, sometimes called tickseed.
If you were a plant, would you want to be called "tickseed?"
Probably not. But the name, "tickseed," is apparently derived from the Greek "koris," meaning bed bug, and "opsis," referring to a seed, or resemblance to a seed.
We prefer to call it "Coreopsis."
If you grow Coreopsis, forget about ticks and seeds and think about the bees.
Here's a female foraging on what looks like a pot of gold to us...

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, heads for a Coreopsis. Both are natives to California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Start here...the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, begins to forage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Clockwise works for this sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, hello, there! The sunflower bee, Svastra, looks up at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Tags: Coreopsis (3), native bee (5), native flower (1), sunflower bee (11), Svastra obliqua expurgata (10)
Comments: 0
No Comments Posted.
Leave a Reply: