Master Gardeners of Ventura County
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Master Gardeners of Ventura County

Posts Tagged: Svastra obliqua expurgata

Life Is Not Always Sunny for the Sunflower Bee

Life is not always sunny for the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua, a native longhorned bee. The gals have trouble foraging when a male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, targets them. The male M. agilis are very...

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Life is good, the pollen is better. But that's about to change for this female sunflower bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Life is good, the pollen is better. But that's about to change for this female sunflower bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Life is good, the pollen is better. But that's about to change for this female sunflower bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bullet of a bee is heading toward the foraging sunflower bee. He means business. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A bullet of a bee is heading toward the foraging sunflower bee. He means business. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bullet of a bee is heading toward the foraging sunflower bee. He means business. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Scram! The male Melissodes agilis scores a direct hit on the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. This image was shot at 1/8000 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Scram! The male Melissodes agilis scores a direct hit on the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. This image was shot at 1/8000 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Scram! The male Melissodes agilis scores a direct hit on the sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. This image was shot at 1/8000 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm outta here! The sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, quickly departs for another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
I'm outta here! The sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, quickly departs for another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm outta here! The sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, quickly departs for another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, July 1, 2021 at 5:09 PM
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Environment, Natural Resources

Day 7 of National Pollinator Week: Meet a Sunflower Bee

It's Day 7--the last day--of National Pollinator Week.  Meet a longhorned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, family Apidae. It's also known as a sunflower bee. "It's a bee that prefers sunflower but will collect pollen from a...

A female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, foraging on sneezeweed at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, foraging on sneezeweed at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, foraging on sneezeweed at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Sunday, June 27, 2021 at 11:11 AM
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Economic Development, Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

You Can Take That to the Bank!

They're good bees. You can take that to the bank! The excitement began when Martin Guerena, an integrated pest management (IPM) specialist with the City of Davis, encountered a native bee nesting site Wednesday in front of the U.S. Bank, corner of 3rd...

Sunflower bees, Svastra obliqua expurgata, flying to a nesting area in downtown Davis, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sunflower bees, Svastra obliqua expurgata, flying to a nesting area in downtown Davis, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sunflower bees, Svastra obliqua expurgata, flying to a nesting area in downtown Davis, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sunflower bee delivering pollen to its nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A sunflower bee delivering pollen to its nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sunflower bee delivering pollen to its nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A pollen-packing sunflower bee making a deposit near a Davis bank. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A pollen-packing sunflower bee making a deposit near a Davis bank. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A pollen-packing sunflower bee making a deposit near a Davis bank. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lindsey Hack (left) and  Allie Margulies of the Neal Williams lab, UC Davis, photographing the sunflower bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lindsey Hack (left) and Allie Margulies of the Neal Williams lab, UC Davis, photographing the sunflower bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lindsey Hack (left) and Allie Margulies of the Neal Williams lab, UC Davis, photographing the sunflower bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

People make deposits in this bank, but sunflower bees are making deposits near the bank (left, in the wood chip mulch, circled here by yellow caution tape). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
People make deposits in this bank, but sunflower bees are making deposits near the bank (left, in the wood chip mulch, circled here by yellow caution tape). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

People make deposits in this bank, but sunflower bees are making deposits near the bank (left, in the wood chip mulch, circled here by yellow caution tape). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 6:08 PM

Does Sneezeweed Make You Sneeze?

Does sneezeweed make you sneeze? Over at the UC Davis Arboretum GATEway Garden. off First Street in downtown Davis, sneezeweed is blooming and bees and butterflies are all over it. We didn't see any of them "sneezing." :) A female long-horned...

A female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on sneezeweed, genus Helenium. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on sneezeweed, genus Helenium. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on sneezeweed, genus Helenium. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, on sneezeweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, on sneezeweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, on sneezeweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, June 2, 2015 at 5:51 PM

All About Pollination

Pollination--what should we know? How can we attract pollinators to our gardens and agricultural landscapes? Rachael Long, Yolo County farm advisor and director of the Yolo County Cooperative Extension  program, has lined up a group of outstanding...

Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Leafcutting bee, Megachile fidelis, on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Leafcutting bee, Megachile fidelis, on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Leafcutting bee, Megachile fidelis, on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 10:10 PM

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