Posts Tagged: Tom Zavortink

European Carder Bees Do Like Snapdragons!

What a show! Last weekend we spotted female European wool carder bees (so named because they collect or card plant hairs for their nests) buzzing in and out of our snapdragons. The bees, about the size of honey bees, are mostly black and yellow. The...

A male European wool carder bee patrolling snapdragons in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male European wool carder bee patrolling snapdragons in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The European wool carder bee is about the size of a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The European wool carder bee is about the size of a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dorsal view of the European wool carder bee as it rests on a snapdragon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dorsal view of the European wool carder bee as it rests on a snapdragon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All that patrolling makes a fellow tired. A male European wool carder bee rests on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All that patrolling makes a fellow tired. A male European wool carder bee rests on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bottoms up! A female wool carder bee foraging in a snapdragon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bottoms up! A female wool carder bee foraging in a snapdragon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Moth Like No Other: Neopalpa donaldtrumpi

It's a moth like no other. Did you read the abstract published Jan. 17 in the journal ZooKeys about the newly discovered and named moth, Neopalpa donaldtrumpi? No? Well, you probably read the news story. It went viral. Somewhat overlooked was the role...

Photo of the head of a male moth, Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, courtesy of Vazrick Nazari, ZooKeys journal.

Photo of the head of a male moth, Neopalpa donaldtrumpi, courtesy of Vazrick Nazari, ZooKeys journal.

Bohart Museum researcher Danielle Wishon, graduate of UC Davis, in the clay pan of Algodones Dunes. (Photo by Lynn Kimsey)

Bohart Museum researcher Danielle Wishon, graduate of UC Davis, in the clay pan of Algodones Dunes. (Photo by Lynn Kimsey)

Site of where the Neopalpa donaldtrumpi was discovered by Bohart Museum of Entomology researchers. (Photo by Lynn Kimsey)

Site of where the Neopalpa donaldtrumpi was discovered by Bohart Museum of Entomology researchers. (Photo by Lynn Kimsey)

So Very Territorial!

Whether it's coming or going, you notice this pollinator's presence. The European wool carder bee (Anthidium manicatum), so named because the female collects or cards "plant hairs" or "plant fuzz" to line her nest, is strikingly beautiful.The bee is...

Male European wool carder bee is very territorial. Front, lavender blossoms. Back: pomegranate blossoms.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

Male European wool carder bee is very territorial. Front, lavender blossoms. Back: pomegranate blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

European wool carder bee nectaring lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

European wool carder bee nectaring lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

European wool carder bee is strikingly beautiful. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

European wool carder bee is strikingly beautiful. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sunny Side of a Leaf

A good time to photograph the European wool carder bee is in the early morning when it's warming its muscles to prepare for flight.It lies perfectly still. That's what it did in our yard last weekend. It warmed itself on the sunny side of a leaf.Not...

Wool carder bee sunning itself on a plum leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wool carder bee sunning itself on a plum leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of a wool carder bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of a wool carder bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Chasing Carder Bees

When this insect flashes by you in your garden, at first glance you think: "Yellow jacket? Paper wasp? What's that?" Then it lands and you realize it's neither. It's a bee.The insects buzzing in our catmint last weekend were wool-carder bees, Anthidium...

Female carder bees

CAUGHT IN FLIGHT, a female carder bee heads for saliva blossom--but it's occupied by another female carder bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sipping Nectar

CARDER BEE sips nectar from a salvia blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Carding

THE CARDER BEE is so named because it gathers "down" or "fuzz" from leaves to build its nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Evidence

THE LEAF of a catmint (see upper right hand corner) shows evidence of carding. Carder bees remove the fuzz or down to build their nests. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Love on a Catmint

MATING--A male carder bee (top) finally catches up to a female. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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