- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ever seen the male longhorned bees, Melissodes agilis, zipping around your garden, trying to bump all critters, large and small, off of "their" blossoms? They own them, ya' know.
These male bees are SO territorial. We've seen them target honey bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, syrphid flies, spiders and praying mantises. And one another. Everything is fair game.
"They're saving the flowers for the females of their species, so they can mate with them," according to the late Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology.
But as dusk settles, there they are, the boys sleeping together in what Thorp called "The Boys' Night Out." The females return to their nests and the males "snuggle" together on lavender, sunflowers or whatever blossom suits them.
If you try to photograph them during the day when they're being territorial, you'll need to set your shutter speed at around 1/8000 of a second to freeze the action.
But if you try to photograph them at dawn or dusk when they're sleeping, it's so much easier. They begin to stir around dawn, as honey bees and bumble bees buzz by their sleeping quarters.
What's up, sleepy head?
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
We miss the late Robbin Thorp, 1933-2019, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, who co-authored Bumble Bees of North America: an Identification Guide (Princeton University Press, 2014).
He loved to share his expertise on bumble bees, which originated more than 100 million years ago. But their distribution and diversity are not well known, he used to tell us.
Bumble bees are just one of the some 20,000 species of bees that populate the world. Of that number, however, only about 250 species are bumble bees, and they all belong to the genus Bombus.
Some 46 different species of bumble bees reside in North America, north of Mexico, Thorp related for a Bug Squad blog posted on July 10, 2014.
In their book, lead author Paul Williams and co-authors Thorp, Leif Richardson and Sheila Colla published information about bumble bees and their history, plant favorites, distribution maps, up-to-date taxonomy, and extensive keys to identify the many color patterns of the species.
They list sites to spot bumble bees:
- farms and gardens with a diversity of flowering crops and herbs
- hay fields
- roadside ditches
- windbreaks with good abundance and diversity of “weedy” flowering plants, such as clovers and vetches
- wetlands and wet meadows
- hardwood forests
- mountain meadows, and
- urban parks and gardens
The primary species found in Yolo County, Thorp related, are:
- Yellow-faced bumble bee, now known as the Vosnesensky bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii
- Yellow bumble bee, Bombus californicus, now known as Bombus fervidus
- Black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, formerly known as Bombus edwardsii. This is the first to fly in the winter and spring.
- Crotch bumble bee, Bombus crotchii, a short-tongued species
- Van Dyke bumble bee, Bombus vandykei, a medium long-tongued species
Lately we've been observing B. vosnesenskii, and B. fervidus, B. melanopygus in our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Solano County.
Currently, B. fervidus favors the rock purslane, Calandrina grandiflora. What a joy to see!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The United Nations designated May 20 as World Bee Day to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face and their contribution to sustainable development, according to its website.
It originated in 2018 when the government of Slovenia proposed that the United Nations declare May 20 as World Bee Day.
Why May 20? That was the day Anton Janša (1734-1773), a pioneer of modern apiculture, was born. "Janša came from a family of beekeepers in Slovenia, where beekeeping is an important agricultural activity with a long-standing tradition," relates Apimondia.
Today, however, let's pay tribute to the bumble bees. The late Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, used to point out there's only one bumble bee genus--Bombus--and that more than 250 species belong to this genus. California has 27 species of Bombus, according to Thorp in his 1983 published research, "Bumble Bees and Cuckoo Bumble Bees of California," written with colleagues Donald Horning Jr. and Lorry Dunning.
In his retirement, Thorp 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).
Thorp, a member of the UC Davis entomology faculty for 30 years (1964-1994), continued his research, teaching and public service until his death in 2019 at age 85.
Franklin's bumble bee, Bombus franklini--a bee that he monitored for decades until his death in 2019--is now protected as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). It is feared extinct. Thorp, the last known person to see Franklin's bumble bee in its native habitat, spotted it in 2006 near Mt. Ashland. The bee inhabits--or did--a 13,300-square-mile area confined to five counties--Siskiyou and Trinity counties in California; and Jackson, Douglas and Josephine counties in Oregon. Its range may be the smallest range of any bumble bee species in North America, or even the world, he mused.
Today scientists are worried about the declining bumble bee population, a decline attributed to climate change, habitat loss, and pesticides. Bumble bees are especially known for their "buzz pollination" of such plants as tomatoes, peppers and cranberries. They help pollinate crops worth an estimated $3 billion in the United States alone.
"Due to threats including habitat loss, pesticide use and disease, sightings of the bee have declined by 89%, and it's disappeared completely from eight states. The decline of this once-common native bee is alarming and heartbreaking — and a harbinger of massive biodiversity loss across the country."--Center for Biological Diversity.
The dominant bumble bee species in California is the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. The Western bumble bee, B. occidentalis, used to be quite common. "It's one of four bumble bee species cleared by the state's Third Appellate District Court of Appeal for inclusion on California's endangered species list," according to a UC Riverside news story, published in July 2022.
Access the California Bumble Bee Atlas website to see how you can help. Meanwhile, how many species of bumble bees have you seen and photographed in California? Here are some of them.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Look closely at a patch of California golden poppies and you may see a sweat bee (genus Halictus) collecting gold pollen. The pollen basket is on the hind legs but you'll see "gold" also dusting the head and abdomen.
Native bee, commonly known as "halictid bee." Native plant. In fact, the California golden poppy, Eschscholzia californica, is the state flower.
And the rumor that it's "protected" and you'll get arrested if you pick a poppy along a roadside is inaccurate.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife sets the record straight on its website: "It is often believed that there are laws prohibiting the cutting or damaging of the California poppy because it is the state flower. While there is no law protecting the California poppy specifically, California Penal Code Section 384a(opens in new tab) requires written landowner permission to remove and sell plant material from land that a person does not own, and removing or damaging plants from property that a person does not own without permission may constitute trespass and/or petty theft. However, these laws do not prevent the collection of California poppies on private land by the landowner. California poppies are a beautiful and easy-to-grow addition to your garden, and although you may choose to pick them from your property, they last much longer in the ground!"
Want to learn more about native bees? California has some 1600 species of wild or non-managed bees. Be sure to read California Bees & Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists. It's the work of University of California authors, all with UC Berkeley connections: Gordon Frankie, now professor emeritus, UC Berkeley; Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor who received his doctorate in entomology from UC Berkeley; photographer Rollin Coville, who holds a doctorate in entomology from UC Berkeley, and Barbara Ertter, curator at the UC Berkeley-based University Herbarium and Jepson Herbarium.
The Bohart Museum of Entomology is hosting an open house on bees, both wild and managed, from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, May 19 in Room 1124, Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. It's free and family free.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), distinguished emeritus professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Leal, professor of biochemistry in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology, said Thorp "epitomizes how emeriti contribute to UC Davis."
Thorp, a 30-year member of the entomology faculty, and a tireless advocate of pollinator species protection and conservation, retired in 1994, but he continued working until several weeks before his death on June 7, 2019, at age 85. In 2014, he co-authored two books: Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University,) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday). He published more than 50 percent of his papers following his retirement."
“Robbin's scientific achievements during his retirement rival the typical career productivity of many other academic scientists,” said Steve Nadler, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, at the time of the legendary entomologist's death. “His contributions in support of understanding bee biodiversity and systematics are a true scientific legacy.”
The video tribute is online at
https://youtu.be/s6fxdg2XZPA?si=u0SG1UvUG34zQxmV.
It includes images and accomplishments of many of the emeriti, meant as a small representation of the achievements of all. (See news story)
In his message, Chancellor May told the new emeriti: "You played a central role in keeping UC Davis at the forefront of excellence. Your continued engagement through teaching, research, volunteering and philanthropy is vital to our continued growth and success. So I encourage you to stay engaged with campus. The UC Davis Emeriti Association is here with resources and support for this newest chapter of your career. Please take advantage of it. Thank you for our dedication to UC Davis and congratulations on reaching this milestone."
Among its many activities, UC Davis Emeriti Association (UCDEA) interviews and records emeriti who have made "significant contributions to the development of the university." (See Video Records Project.)
One of them is Robbin Thorp. (Watch the video here.)