Posts Tagged: black-tailed bumble bee
The Robbin Thorp Bumble Bee Memorial Contest
Where's the first bumble bee of the year in Solano and Yolo counties? It's not a $64,000 question, because there's no reward--just bragging rights. Game on! Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), a global authority on bees and a distinguished emeritus professor of...
The 2017 winner: Allan Jones photographed this Bombus melanopygus on manzanita on Jan. 27 in the UC Davis Arboretum.
The 2018 winner: Kathy Keatley Garvey photographed this Bombus melanopygus on rosemary in Benicia on Jan. 1.
The 2019 winner: Kim Chacon photographed this Bombus melanopygus on manzanita on Jan. 10 in the UC Davis Arboretum.
The Wonders of a Bumble Bee on Westringia
It's mid-February and early morning in Vallejo, Calif. Westringia is blooming along a walking path near the Glen Cove Marina. Suddenly out of no where, there's a flash of yellow and black. A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, buzzes by our...
A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus Bombus melanopygus, foraging on Westringia in Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Check out the pollen on this black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus Bombus melanopygus, foraging on Westringia in Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A New Year and a First Bumble Bee
What an unexpected find! It was the first day of 2013 and what did we see: a queen bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, aka black-tailed bumble bee. Like scores of others, we decided to take a walk on Jan. 1 in the Benicia State Recreation Area....
A queen black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heading for manzanita blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Long tongue of the queen bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, sipping nectar from manzanita. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Queen bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)