Posts Tagged: bumble bee

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 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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

Wings up, time to go. A bumble bee ready to take flight from a Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

There Is No Planet 'B'

There is no "Planet B."  The Earth is all we have. Today, April 22, is Earth Day (an annual event launched April 22, 1970) and what a perfect occasion to celebrate a native bee and a native wildflower.  Bombus vosnesenskii,aka the...

A yellow-faced bumble bee,Bombus vosnesenskii, buzzes into a barely opened California golden poppy in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced bumble bee,Bombus vosnesenskii, buzzes into a barely opened California golden poppy in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Check the orange pollen on this yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Check the orange pollen on this yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

And we have a lift-off! The pollen basket is easily recognized here. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

And we have a lift-off! The pollen basket is easily recognized here. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ready for take-off! The bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, prepares to leave the California golden poppy. Both are natives. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ready for take-off! The bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, prepares to leave the California golden poppy. Both are natives. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Decisions, Decisions: Solar Eclipse or a Bumble Bee?

What insects did you see during the Solar Eclipse, dubbed "The Great North American Eclipse?" And what were they doing? In some parts of North America, as the moon passed between the earth and sun, folks saw a total solar eclipse. But here in...

A queen bumble bee, probably a Bombus californicus, forages on a Coreopsis during the April 8th solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A queen bumble bee, probably a Bombus californicus, forages on a Coreopsis during the April 8th solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Brace yourself! A bumble bee appears to hold up a petal of the Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Brace yourself! A bumble bee appears to hold up a petal of the Coreopsis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A little twist here, a little twist there. The bumble bee adjusts. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A little twist here, a little twist there. The bumble bee adjusts. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The end! The bumble bee is unaware of the photographer--or the solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The end! The bumble bee is unaware of the photographer--or the solar eclipse. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Blooms and Bombus in Benicia

There she was, a beautiful yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging Feb. 27 on African trailing daisies, Osteospermum fruticosum, in the Matthew Turner Shipyard Park, Benicia, Calif. The bee buzzed cautiously amid the pink...

A bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on trailing African daisies at the Matthew Turner Shipyard Park, Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on trailing African daisies at the Matthew Turner Shipyard Park, Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on trailing African daisies at the Matthew Turner Shipyard Park, Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on trailing African daisies at the Matthew Turner Shipyard Park, Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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