Posts Tagged: Meloe franciscanus

The Amazing Bee-Parasite Research of Leslie Saul-Gershenz

Evolutionary ecologist Leslie Saul-Gershenz goes places where many have been but few have ever really seen.  Bees and blister beetles, yes. We remember writing about her work in April of 2013 when she addressed the Nor Cal Entomology Society (now...

Leslie Saul-Gershenz in the Channel Island National Park conducting a native bee survey.

Leslie Saul-Gershenz in the Channel Island National Park conducting a native bee survey.

Leslie Saul-Gershenz doing field work on bee nesting beds of the solitary bee, Nomia melanderi, in Walla Walla, Wash. (2010-2015).

Leslie Saul-Gershenz doing field work on bee nesting beds of the solitary bee, Nomia melanderi, in Walla Walla, Wash. (2010-2015).

A digger bee, Habropoda pallida, with blister beetle larvae. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)

A digger bee, Habropoda pallida, with blister beetle larvae. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)

Bees, Parasites and Maybe the End?

Thursday, Nov. 7 promises to be an exciting day for the Northern California Entomology Society--a great presentation by UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Leslie Saul-Gershenz, who researches how blister beetle nest parasites cooperate to mimic the sex...

A digger bee, Habropoda pallida, with blister beetle larvae. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)

A digger bee, Habropoda pallida, with blister beetle larvae. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)

Phoresy!

Phoresy!If that word is not in your everyday vocabulary, just think of a symbiotic relationship where one organism transports another organism of a different species for the benefit of both.And there you have it--at least part of it--of what evolutionary...

Larvae of a blister beetle, Meloe franciscanus, on a digger bee, Habropoda pallida. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz, used with permission)

Larvae of a blister beetle, Meloe franciscanus on a digger bee, Habropoda pallida. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz, used with permission))

Digger bee, Habropoda pallida, a solitary ground-nesting bee, on Borrego milkvetch. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz, used with permission)

Digger bee, Habropoda pallida, a solitary ground-nesting bee, on Borrego milkvetch. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz, used with permission)

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