- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
She buzzed from blossom to blossom at Doran Regional Park while packing a ball of red pollen that seemed to increase in brilliance with every floral visit.
A native bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, on a native plant, Lupinus arboreus.
B. vosnesenskii queens are larger than the workers. Queens measure between between 18 and 21 mm long, while the workers (females) range from 8 and 17 mm. The males? 10 to 15 mm long.
The yellow bush lupine, which can reach a height of seven feet and a width of four feet, seems to be occupying places where the invasive ice plant took hold. Volunteers from the California Native Plant Society are removing the ice plant at Doran Regional Park and Bodega Head. (Bumble bees forage on ice plant blossoms, as well.)
The California Invasive Plant Council describes yellow bush lupine as "native to southern and central California. It was introduced repeatedly to many dune systems as a sand stabilizer during the early to mid-1900s...it "reproduces solely by seed. It is self-compatible and is pollinated by bumble bees."
Globally, there are 250 bumble bee species, all in the genus Bombus. B. vosnesenskii is one of the most common Bombus species on the West Coast. Thankfully, it has not reached endangered status.
For more information on bumble bees, read Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University, 2014), co-authored by Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) distinguished emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
There is no "Planet B."
The Earth is all we have.
Today, April 22, is Earth Day (an annual event launched April 22, 1970) and what a perfect occasion to celebrate a native bee and a native wildflower.
Bombus vosnesenskii,aka the yellow-faced bumble bee, meet the California golden poppy, Eschscholzia californica, the California state flower. (The California dogface butterfly, Zerene eurydice, is the state insect, but shouldn't B. vosnesenskii rank as a runner-up?)
Why do we celebrate Earth Day? "To demonstrate support for environmental protection," according to Wikipedia. "In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere."
The late Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) distinguished emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, always encouraged us to look for, photograph and celebrate bumble bees. A tireless advocate of pollinator species protection and conservation, Thorp was known for his expertise, dedication and passion in protecting native pollinators, especially bumble bees, and for his teaching, research and public service. In his retirement, he co-authored two books Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University, 2014) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday, 2014).
Seen any bumble bees lately? Connect with the California Bumble Bee Atlas. It's a project coordinated by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. As its website says: It's a "collaborative community science effort to track and conserve the state's native bumble bee species.? ?This year's field work starts March 15, 2024!" Grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration, the Bureau of Land Management, and other agencies support the project.
Happy E. Day...and Happy B. Day!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The bee buzzed cautiously amid the pink and white flowers, near anglers, kayakers, picnickers, bench occupiers, and walkers.
"Bumble bee!" I whispered, raising the camera. "Bombus vosnesenskii!"
Nobody seemed to notice. "Just a bee," they probably thought. "Just a bee."
The site is named for Matthew Turner (1825-1909), a sea captain, shipbuilder and designer who built ships at the site.
Wikipedia tells us: "He constructed 228 vessels, of which 154 were built in the Matthew Turner shipyard in Benicia. He built more sailing vessels than any other single shipbuilder in America, and can be considered 'the 'grandaddy' of big time wooden shipbuilding on the Pacific Coast...Turner also built some of the fastest racing yachts in the world, proven out during the famous races sponsored by the San Francisco Yacht Club, of which Turner was a charter member."
A historical marker at the Benicia site reads: "In 1882, Matthew Turner of San Francisco relocated his shipyard to Benicia. Turner, the most prodigious shipbuilder in North America, constructed 228 vessels, 169 of which were launched here. In 1913, the shipyard was purchased by James Robertson, who operated it until 1918. The yard's ways, and the whaler "Stamboul," used as a shipyard work platform, are visible at low tide."
The State Department of Parks and Recreation, in cooperation with the City of Benicia, designated the site as California Registered Historical Landmark No. 973 on June 18, 1987.
Turner would have been proud of the "namesake" park. And maybe, just maybe, while he was building ships, he may have noticed a bumble bee...or two...or three....
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The English lavender drew her in.
And there she was, a yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging in our family's pollinator garden in Vacaville.
She buzzed from blossom to blossom, ignoring the honey bees, syrphid flies and...the photographer.
Ms. Bumble Bee was on a morning mission--to gather as much nectar as quickly as possible and return to her colony.
Sadly, this year bumble bees in our pollinator garden seem to be as "scarce as hen's teeth." (Since hens have no teeth, hens' teeth are so scarce as to be non-existent!)
This Bombus arrived June 4 and we haven't seen any since.
“Bumble bees provide an important ecological service--pollination," native bee expert Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, told us. "This service is critical to reproduction of a huge diversity of plants that in turn provide shelter, food (seeds, fruits) to diverse wildlife. The potential cascade of effects from the removal of even one localized pollinator may affect us directly and indirectly.”
In his retirement, Professor Thorp co-authored Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University, 2014) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday, 2014).
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
She was all bees-ness, this yellow-faced queen bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii.
There she was, foraging in a bed of steely blue-purple flowers, Eryngium amethystinum, a genus that belongs to the carrot family, Apiaceae.
A native bee on a non-native plant.
It was Saturday, Nov. 19 and the temperature hovered at a unseasonable 64 degrees in the Sunset Gardens, Sonoma Cornerstone, Sonoma, Calif.
Unseasonable weather and an unseasonable bumble bee.
B. vosnesenskii are spring bees, and this time of year, the queen is usually hibernating, according to the late Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology and a global authority on bees. In his retirement, he co-authored Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University, 2014) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday, 2014).
“Bumble bees provide an important ecological service--pollination," he told us several years before his passing. "This service is critical to reproduction of a huge diversity of plants that in turn provide shelter, food (seeds, fruits) to diverse wildlife. The potential cascade of effects from the removal of even one localized pollinator may affect us directly and indirectly.”
Professor Thorp would have loved to see this bumble bee in Sonoma. He also would have loved to know that the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis launched the annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest in 2021.
Contest coordinator Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology, seeks the first bumble bee of the year in the two-county area of Yolo or Solano. The rules are simple: photograph it, record the time and date, and email the image to the Bohart Museum at bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
Coincidentally, this year UC Davis doctoral candidate Maureen Page of the Neal Williams lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and horticulturist Ellen Zagory, retired director of public horticulture for the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden each took their images at exactly 2:30 p.m. on Jan. 1 in the Arboretum to share the award.
Page captured her image of B. melanopygus, considered the earliest Bombus species to emerge in this area, and Zagory, of B. vosnesenskii. (See Jan. 3, 2022 Bug Squad blog)
And fittingly, they both knew and worked with Professor Thorp.
Their prize? Each receive a coffee cup designed with the endangered Franklin's bumble bee, a bee that Thorp closely monitored in its small range at the California-Oregon border. The cup features an image of a bee specimen, photographed by Bohart scientist Brennen Dyer, and designed by UC Davis doctoral alumnus Fran Keller, professor at Folsom Lake College.