Posts Tagged: Anthophora urbana

The Sneaky Cuckoo Bee

You could call it a slacker, a deadbeat, a moocher, a sponger, or a loafer. Or you could call it a cuckoo bee. Take the cuckoo bee, Xeromelecta californica, a parasite of the digger bee, Anthophora. When the female Anthophora leaves its nest to...

A cuckoo bee, Xeromelecta californica, sips nectar from a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cuckoo bee, Xeromelecta californica, sips nectar from a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a cuckoo bee, Xeromelecta californica, on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a cuckoo bee, Xeromelecta californica, on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora urbana, sips nectar from lavender. The cuckoo bee, Xeromelecta californica, is a parasite of Anthophora. It lays eggs in the host's nest, resulting in death of the host's offspring. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora urbana, sips nectar from lavender. The cuckoo bee, Xeromelecta californica, is a parasite of Anthophora. It lays eggs in the host's nest, resulting in death of the host's offspring. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Nice to See You!

Nice to see you! In early spring and throughout most of the summer, we saw scores of digger bees, Anthophora urbana, living in our garden. The very territorial males patrolled the flowers, trying to save them for the females (to mate with them). The...

A male digger bee, Anthophora urbana, (as identified by Robbin Thorp of UC Davis) heads for a lavender blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male digger bee, Anthophora urbana, (as identified by Robbin Thorp of UC Davis) heads for a lavender blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male digger bee, Anthophora urbana, nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male digger bee, Anthophora urbana, nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male digger bee, Anthophora urbana, finishes foraging on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male digger bee, Anthophora urbana, finishes foraging on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Diggin' the Digger Bee

Diggin' the digger bee... We spotted this female digger bee, Anthophora urbana, zooming in on some zinnias at UC Davis.  She buzzed loudly, virtually owning the zinnia patch. Smaller sweat bees scattered. The bee, identified by native pollinator...

Female digger bee, Anthophora urbana, on zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey),

Female digger bee, Anthophora urbana, on zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey),

Female digger bee, Anthophora urbana, peers over the petals of a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Female digger bee, Anthophora urbana, peers over the petals of a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caught in flight, a female digger bee, Anthophora urbana, heads for a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caught in flight, a female digger bee, Anthophora urbana, heads for a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tiny Bee

It's smaller than a honey bee.And faster and louder.Anthophora urbana, a solitary, ground-nesting bee, frequents our garden to nectar the catmint, lavender and sage. Sometimes the forager's buzz is so loud that it's startling. "What was THAT?"In this...

Anthophora urbana

WITH TONGUE EXTENDED, Anthophora urbana heads for lavender. It's known as a rapid forager. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Nectaring Lavender

TINY Anthophora urbana nectaring lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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