Posts Tagged: carpenter bee
Welcome, Teddy Bear Bee
If you've never seen the "teddy bear bee," keep an eye out for it. A fuzzy golden bee with green...
A male Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa varipuncta)sips nectar from a foothill penstemon, (Penstemon heterophyllus) in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male Valley carpenter bee twists to look at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male valley carpenter bee, aka "teddy bee," straddles a penstemon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey, You Ought to Attend This!
If you've ever wanted to taste exotic honeys (of course, you have!) and if you've ever wondered why...
Why do honey bees (Apis mellifera) make honey and not most other bees? That question will be answered at the Honey and Pollination Center's "World of Honey" tasting event on April 5. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa varipuncta) is the color of honey, but this species does not make honey. Although the male is blond, the female of this species is a solid black. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
When Varroa Mites Hitch a Ride
Those blood-sucking varroa mites (Varroa destructor) are considered the No. 1 enemy of beekeepers....
A varroa mite attached to a honey bee forager. It's the reddish brown spot near the wing. The bee is foraging on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bumble bee, Bombus californicus, with a hitchhiking varroa mite. (Photo by Allan Jones, Davis)
Varroa mite on a carpenter bee. (Photo by Allan Jones, Davis)
Saga of a Spider's Kill
For more than two weeks now, we've been watching a banded garden spider (Argiope trifasciata)...
A banded garden spider (Argiope trifasciata) straddling lavender stems. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What prey is this? It appears to be a huge black bee, a female Valley carpenter bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of the prey, which turned out to be a female Valley carpenter bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Boy Wonder!
I've been waiting for a decade to see a male Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa varipuncta) foraging in...
A male Valley carpenter bee engaging in nectar robber; he's drilling a hole in a foxglove to get the nectar, avoiding the pollination process. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male valley carpenter bee foraging on dwarf bulbine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male Valley carpenter bee "cuddling" a blanket flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Eyeing the photographer, a male Valley carpenter bee gets ready to leave a blanket flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male Valley carpenter bee lifts off a foxglove. He was early chased by a territorial male European wool carder bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)