When this insect flashes by you in your garden, at first glance you think: "Yellow jacket? Paper...
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)
Posted on
Monday, August 23, 2010 at
8:26 PM
When you see a honey bee trapped in a spider web, it's usually dead and about to be consumed.Not...
Sticky Web
HONEY BEE is caught in the sticky web of a spider. Note the glue-like webbing by her feet. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Freed
FREED from the spider web, the honey bee is about to nectar a catmint blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Posted on
Thursday, June 3, 2010 at
9:14 PM
Our catmint is in mint condition.So is the cat.The catmint (Nepeta mussinii) is a member of the...
Bee on Catmint
HONEY BEE nectaring catmint, a member of the mint or Lamiaceae family. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Tongue
HONEY BEE extracts her tongue in anticipation of catmint nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Like an Acrobat
LIKE AN ACROBAT, a honey bee flips to one side, ready for take-off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Cat Sniffing Catmint
CATS like to sniff and nibble catmint, a member of the mint family. Here Xena the Warrior Princess checks out catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Posted on
Thursday, May 13, 2010 at
7:44 PM
Honey bees love catmint as much as cats love catnip.
Fact is, catmint and catnip belong to the...
Honey Bee
HONEY BEE, with tongue extended, heads for catmint (Nepeta faassenii). This will be among the plants in the half-acre Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, to be open to the public Oct. 16 on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Nectaring
WITH POLLEN crowning her head, a honey bee nectars catmint. It's a bee favorite and a people favorite.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Posted on
Monday, August 10, 2009 at
5:10 PM