Posts Tagged: Bombus melanopygus
Drum Roll...First Bumble Bee of the Year!

We have a winner! Several UC Davis bumble bee enthusiasts--encouraged by native pollinator...
Check out the pollen on this black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, nectaring on manzanita, as photographed by Kim Chacon, UC Davis doctoral candidate on Jan. 10.
Black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heads for a manzanita blossom in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kim Chacon)
Close-up of a Bombus melanopygus heading for a manzanita blossom. (Photo by Kim Chacon)
Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, teaching at The Bee Course last August. (Photo by Kim Chacon)
Bumbling Into Spring

Might As Well Be Spring"I'm as restless as a willow in a windstormI'm as jumpy as puppet on a...
A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heads for a nectarine tree in Vacaville, Calif. on March 18. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, forages on nectarine blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Delicate pink blossoms and a very hardy bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hey, Honey Bee, I'll Race You to the Flowers!

Hey, honey bee, I'll race you to the flowers. Okay, but you'll lose. I can go faster. Watch...
A honey bee and a bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, head for the same patch of lavender. This image was taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, sips nectar from a lavender blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
In this photo, you can see the bumble bee's tongue or proboscis, as it sips nectar from lavender. This is a male Bombus melanopygus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's off to another blossom. A male bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heads for more nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Wonders of a Bumble Bee on Westringia

It's mid-February and early morning in Vallejo, Calif. Westringia is blooming along a walking path...
A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus Bombus melanopygus, foraging on Westringia in Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Check out the pollen on this black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus Bombus melanopygus, foraging on Westringia in Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Well, Hello, Bumble Bee...

What are the odds? Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of...
A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, peers at the photographer. This one buzzed into Robbin Thorp's office at UC Davis on Valentine's Day, Feb. 14. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A black-tailed bumble bee heading for jade blossoms in the Benicia (Calif.) Capitol State Historic Park, Solano County, on Christmas Day, 2013. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)