Posts Tagged: Robbin Thorp
Got Milkweed? Bees Like It, Too!
The Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, stocks a "Got Milkweed?"...
A male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta (aka "teddy bear bee"), heads for the showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. A honey bee is already there. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Three's a crowd? That's how many bees are on this milkweed. One carpenter bee and two honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of the male Valley carpenter bee's tongue or proboscis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female Valley carpenter bee arrives to take her share. The male of this species is a green-eyed blond (a clear case of of sexual dimorphism). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Beauty of a Carpenter Bee's Wings
There's an old saying applicable to child-rearing: "First you give them roots, and then you give...
Iridescent wings of a female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta. The bee is nectaring on showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, but she's the one putting on a show. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bumble Bees: Pollen Power in the Phacelia
Talk about pollen! The bumble bees, Bombus vandykei (as identified by Robbin Thorp, distinguished...
It's mine--move away! Two bumble bees, species Bombus vandykei, seek the same Phacelia blossom on the UC Davis central campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Check out the heavy load of pollen on this bumble bee, Bombus vandykei. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Phacelia is a plant that native bees, including this native bumble bee, Bombus vandykei, love. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Saddle bags of pure gold? No, golden pollen carried by the Bombus vandykei. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bigger, Better, Buglier: Impressive Science
Oh, the bugs! Bigger. Better. Buglier. It was Saturday, April 18, the 103rd annual UC Davis...
Robbin Thorp, UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, chats with Adne Burruss, 6, of Irvine. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A close-up of a male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, held by Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis.
Future entomologist? Julianna Amaya, 10, of Martinez is fascinated by an Australian walking stick.
Entomologist and Bohart Museum associate Jeff Smith talks butterflies to Ted Swift and his daughter Grace Swift, 10, of Davis.
Fran Keller, assistant professor at Folsom Lake College, staffs the Bohart Museum gift shop.
A Chance Encounter with an Ichneumon
So here's this lady beetle patrolling a rosebud. It's early spring--April 15--in Vacaville,...
A lady beetle meeets a male parasitic wasp from the family Ichneumonidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The lady beetle continues to patrol the rosebud, while the male parasitic wasp quickly leaves the scene. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)