Facebook
X (Twitter)
Reddit
Pinterest
Tumblr
Delicious
LinkedIn
StumbleUpon
Posts Tagged: Robbin Thorp
Why It's Called a 'Boys' Night Out'
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...
A horizontal view of male Melissodes bees sleeping on a lavender stem. Image taken just after dawn in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's up, sleepy head? A sleepy male Melissodes agilis bee begins to stir at dawn. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Bumble Bee's Beeline for a Rock Purslane
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...
Bombus fervidus, formerly known as B. californicus, makes a beeline for a rock purslane in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus fervidus cradles itself in a rock purslane in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The bumble bee's proboscis is easily seen in this image. This is Bombus fervidus foraging on a rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus fervidus exits a rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Celebrating Bumble Bees on World Bee Day
It's World Bee Day and there's no better time than to showcase bumble bees, Bombus. 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...
The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, emerging from a foxglove in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus californicus, "the California bumble bee," foraging on blanket flower, Gaillardia, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus vandykei, the Van Dyke's bumble bee, foraging on lavender in a Vacaville, Calif. garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis, on the hand of the UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor Robbin Thorp (1933-2019). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus melanopygus, the black-tailed bumble bee, foraging on a pansy in a Vacaville, Calif. garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is Franklin's bumble bee, Bombus franklini, monitored by Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) and now feared extinct. (Photo by Robbin Thorp)
No Sweat....Just Pollen...
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...
A sweat bee, genus Halictus and family Halictidae, collecting pollen from a California golden poppy, the state flower. Both the bee and the flower are natives of California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A sweat bee, genus Halictus and family Halictidae, rolling in the pollen of a California golden poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two Insect Contests: One Winner, One to Go
One down, one to go! We have a winner in the 4th annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest, sponsored by the Bohart Museum of Entomology. Details are being gathered, with the winner to be announced soon. Hint:it's a...
The search is on to collect the first cabbage white butterfly of the year in the three-county area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
