Posts Tagged: Coreopsis

Get Ready...It's Happening...World Bee Day...

Get ready...it's happening...the annual World Bee Day... Monday, May 20 is World Bee Day, as declared by the United Nations "to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face, and their contribution to sustainable...

A bumble bee forages on Coreopsis in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bumble bee forages on Coreopsis in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Yellow pollen from Coreopsis covers this bumble bee like gold dust. (Photo by Kathy Keatley)

Yellow pollen from Coreopsis covers this bumble bee like gold dust. (Photo by Kathy Keatley)

Here's a good foraging spot on the Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Here's a good foraging spot on the Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wings up, time to go. A bumble bee ready to take flight from a Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wings up, time to go. A bumble bee ready to take flight from a Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Native Bee, Native Flower, Sunny California

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...

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

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)

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)

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)

Well, hello, there! The sunflower bee, Svastra, looks up at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee That's a Delight to See

What's that on the Coreopsis? Could it be--a bee? Yes, that's the metallic green sweat bee, also called an ultra green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus.  This one  (below) is a female. Males and females are easily distinguishable.  The...

Female metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, on coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Female metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, on coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

Female metallic green sweat bee peers at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Female metallic green sweat bee peers at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Keatley Garvey)

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