Posts Tagged: Bombus
Bumble Bees at Bodega Bay: Lovin' the Lupine
What a beautiful sight...a yellow-faced bumble bee, a queen, foraging on yellow bush lupine blossoms at Bodega Bay. She buzzed from blossom to blossom at Doran Regional Park while packing a ball of red pollen that seemed to increase in brilliance...
A queen yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on yellow bush lupine at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay. Note the bright red pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The queen yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, heads for another yellow bush lupine blossom at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay. "Bombus" is derived from a Latin word meaning buzzing or a humming sound. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of the head and thorax of a queen bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Battle Over the Lavender: Mine, All Mine!
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is foraging on lavender in a Vacaville garden. Abruptly, the bumble bee senses a fast-approaching honey bee, Apis mellifera. Bombus: "Hey, bee, this is my territory, my...
A yellow-face bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is interrupted by a fast-approaching honey bee as it's nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (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)
Get Ready...It's Happening...World Bee Day...
Get ready...it's happening...the annual World Bee Day... Monday, May 20 is World Bee Day, as declared by the United Nations "to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators, the threats they face, and their contribution to sustainable...
A bumble bee forages on Coreopsis in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Yellow pollen from Coreopsis covers this bumble bee like gold dust. (Photo by Kathy Keatley)
Here's a good foraging spot on the Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wings up, time to go. A bumble bee ready to take flight from a Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)