Posts Tagged: Kniphofia

Hear That Buzz on the Red Hot Poker?

On the last few days of Year 2019, where do you find a foraging honey bee? Well, if the temperature soars to 50 or 55, you might see honey bees slip out of their hives and head for a winter flowering plant commonly known as the "red hot poker" or...

A honey bee heads for a winter flowering plant, Kniphofia, in Napa, on Saturday, Dec. 28. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee heads for a winter flowering plant, Kniphofia, in Napa, on Saturday, Dec. 28. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Check out the pollen on the honey bee foraging on a red hot poker (genus Kniphofia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Check out the pollen on the honey bee foraging on a red hot poker (genus Kniphofia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A clump of "red hot poker" or "Christmas cheer" (genus Kniphofia) brings winter cheer to a Napa vineyard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A clump of "red hot poker" or "Christmas cheer" (genus Kniphofia) brings winter cheer to a Napa vineyard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Looking for Bee Plants?

If you're thinking about adding more bee friendly plants to your garden but you're concerned about the drought, the UC Davis Arboretum has the answers. The arboretum will host its public spring clearance plant sale on Saturday, May 17, from 9 a.m....

A honey bee, loaded with pollen, heads for Kniphofia "Christmas Cheer." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, loaded with pollen, heads for Kniphofia "Christmas Cheer." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

A finch likes the Christmas Cheer, too. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A finch likes the Christmas Cheer, too. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's No Vegetarian

Bee specialists like to point out that the yellowjacket is a carnivore and the honey bee is a vegetarian. They are, indeed. The yellowjacket is an aggressive predator that seeks protein-rich foods for its colony, while the honey bee--usually quite...

Western yellowjacket (Vespula penyslvanica) heading toward a red-hot poker (but this variety is yellow). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket (Vespula penyslvanica) heading toward a red-hot poker (but this variety is yellow). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket buries its head in a tubular flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket buries its head in a tubular flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket foraging. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket foraging. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket assumes the shape of a comma. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Western yellowjacket assumes the shape of a comma. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bottoms up--western yellowjacket moves away from the camera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bottoms up--western yellowjacket moves away from the camera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Good Dose of Christmas Cheer

Definitely a good dose of Christmas Cheer!In the plant world, that would be the Kniphofia “Christmas Cheer," also known as "red-hot poker." On a visit last week to the Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum, we encountered a lone honey bee foraging among the...

Foraging

A SOLITARY HONEY BEE forages among the Christmas Cheer, also known as Knipofia "Christmas Cheer' or "red-hot poker." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cleaning Her Tongue

HONEY BEE on the Christmas Cheer takes time to clean her tongue. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Christmas Cheer

CHRISTMAS CHEER (Kniphofia) or "red-hot poker" is a UC Davis Arborteum All-Star. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Christmas Cheer

I always thought the red-hot poker was primarily red. Not. This one in the Storer Gardens at the University of California, Davis, was mostly yellow. It was Saturday, Dec. 20, 2008, five days before Christmas, and a lone honey bee, packed with pollen,...

Honey Bee

BEELINE--A pollen-packed honey bee makes a beeline for a red-hot poker, variety "Christmas Cheer," in the Storer Gardens at UC Davis. The date: Dec. 20, five days before Christmas. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Red-Hot Poker in Storer Gardens

RED-HOT POKER--The red-hot poker, variety "Christmas Cheer," brightens the Storer Gardens at UC Davis. A bench awaits visitors. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Read more