Posts Tagged: pollen
Bees, We Can't Get Enough of Them!
The joy of the season strikes a chord. When bees slip out of their California hives during winter...
Honey bee cleans her tongue in flight as she heads for another mallow blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Save some for me!" A honey bee buzzes upward toward a mallow blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Two can share, right?" Honey bees jockey for position--and pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Okay, let's share!" Two honey bees eye one another. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Saga of the Milkweed, Bee and Caterpillar
So here's this tattered old worker bee seeking some nectar from the broadleaf milkweed, Asclepias...
A tattered honey bee seeking nectar from a milkweed blossom encounters a monarch caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Well, hello, there!" The antennae of the bee and monarch caterpillar touch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee gets stuck in the sticky pollinia of the milkweed as a monarch caterpillar keeps munching away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee carries the sticky winged pollen on her leg as she buzzes off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sharing the Bounty with the Bees
Move over, monarchs. Bees--and other pollinators--gravitate toward the enticing aroma of the...
A male leafcutter bee, Megachile sp., in flight, heading toward the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male leafcutter bee, Megachile sp., sips nectar from a milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, a green-eyed blond, sipping nectar from the milkweed.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, sipping nectar from the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee leaving with pollinia (pollen structure) from the milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
When Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries (Cherry Laurels)
It's definitely a bee friendly plant, packed with nectar and pollen. The cherry laurel, Prunus...
A backlit honey bee, its tongue or proboscis extended, heads for cherry laurel blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The anticipation of nectar and pollen is intense. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Touchdown! Pollen and nectar on the cherry laurel. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Story Behind This Bumble Bee Pollen Load
What a treat to find not one--but five yellow-faced bumble bees (Bombus vosnesenskii) foraging on a...
Yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, packing a mixed load of pollen from the flowers near her. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The mixed pollen load is highly visible here: the female Bombus vosnesenskii is foraging on rosemary, but her load indicates she previously visited California golden poppy, oxais, wild radish and mustard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Coming in for a landing--a bumble bee ballet. This is the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)