Posts Tagged: Halictus tripartitus

How to Plan a Menu for a Crab Spider

Dear Crab Spider, Please don't eat the pollinators. You may help yourself to a mosquito, a crane fly, a lygus bug, an aphid, and a katydid, not necessarily in that order. And more than one if you like. In fact, how about an all-you-can-eat buffet of...

A crab spider dines on a sweat bee, a female Halictus tripartitus (as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A crab spider dines on a sweat bee, a female Halictus tripartitus (as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Missed! A male long-horned bee, probably Melissodes agilis, eludes the crab spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Missed! A male long-horned bee, probably Melissodes agilis, eludes the crab spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A crab spider on top of the world, the cone of a petal-less blanket flower (Gaillardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A crab spider on top of the world, the cone of a petal-less blanket flower (Gaillardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hey, I can wait all day. And I will. I'm a Wait Watcher. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hey, I can wait all day. And I will. I'm a Wait Watcher. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Summertime...and the Livin' Is Easy

Today's the Fourth of July and folks are splashing in their pools. So, what happens when a bee falls in? Sometimes they get lucky--if there's a human around to rescue them.  And sometimes their luck extends to a floating leaf. This tiny female...

Summertime...and the living is easy...A female sweat bee, genus Halictus, floats on a leaf in a swimming pool. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Summertime...and the living is easy...A female sweat bee, genus Halictus, floats on a leaf in a swimming pool. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

As Tiny as a... Sweat Bee

If you like to take photos of insects that are as small as a grain of rice, then you'll love--absolutely love--stalking a sweat bee.Sweat bees, members of the worldwide family Halictinae and order Hymenoptera, are so-named because they are attracted to...

Sweat Bee

SWEAT BEE, a female Halictus tripartitus, sips nectar from a tower of jewels blossom (Echium wildpretti). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-Up

CLOSE-UP of a female sweat bee, Halictus tripartitus, as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis. This one is nectaring on a tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Heavy Load

HEAVY LOAD of blue pollen on a female sweat bee, Halictus tripartitus. The bee is leaving a tower of jewels (Echium wildprettii). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two Bees, Two Sizes

When a sweat bee and a honey bee share the same flower, the size difference is quite distinct.We took this photo of a honey bee on a rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora) blossom.  Above it stood a tiny female sweat bee (probably Halictus tripartitus,...

Two Bees

A HONEY BEE and a sweat bee share the same flower, a rock purslane. The sweat bee is probably Halictus tripartitus, according to native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Between a Rock and a...

Caught between a rock and a...soft place... You'll often see tiny sweat bees nectaring rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora) in urban gardens. This plant, a native of Chile, brightens landscapes with its pinkish magenta blossoms. You probably...

Sweat Bee

TINY female sweat bee (Halictus tripartitus) nectaring rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ready to Fly

IS IT SAFE? A tiny sweat bee peers from the rock purslane before she takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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