Posts Tagged: Robbin Thorp
What Does Science Tells Us About Bumble Bees and Honey Bees Foraging Together?

It's always a delight to see bumble bees and honey bees foraging together on flowers during the...
A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, foraging on rosemary at the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park on Feb. 23, 2021. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on rosemary at Glen Cove Marina, Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee, Apis mellifera, foraging on rosemary at the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park on Feb. 23, 2021. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Why Bumble Bee Expert Robbin Thorp Would Have Been Proud

Robbin Thorp would have been proud of what happened on Thursday, Jan. 14. When the UC...
This manzanita plant at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, near Old Davis Road, is where UC Davis postdoctoral researcher Charlie Nicholson captured an image of the first bumble bee of the year. (Photo by Charlie Nicholson)
In this 2015 Bee Course class photo, Charlie Nicholson (top, far left) holds the sign. In the second row, far left, is co-instructor Robbin Thorp, UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology. Nicholson is the winner of the inaugural Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest, sponsored by the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo courtesy of The Bee Course)
The Bee Course instructors in 2013 included (from left) Laurence Packer, York University, Toronto; Terry Griswold, USDA Bee Lab, Logan, Utah; Steve Buchmann, Tucson, Ariz.; Robbin Thorp, UC Davis, John Ascher, University of Singapore; Jim Cane, USDA Bee Lab, Logan, Utah; and Eli Wyman, American Museum of Natural History, N.Y. Not pictured course leader Jerome Rozen, American Museum of Natural History. (Photo courtesy of The Bee Course)
A Delight to See in January: A Bombus in Benicia

They're out there! Yes, after a l-o-n-g, cold, hard winter, bumble bees are emerging. At least in...
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, heads for oxalis blossoms in Benicia on Jan. 13, 2021. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of a yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, on oxalis in Benicia. Note the orange pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Bombus vosnesenskii, caught in flight, targets oxalis in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee buzzes toward the foraging bumble bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Searching for the First Bumble Bee of the Year in a Two-County Area

Seen any bumble bees lately in Yolo or Solano counties? If so, and if you photograph the...
Allan Jones of Davis captured this image of a black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, on Jan. 6, 2020 in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Allan Jones)
This yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, showed up Jan. 1, 2018 at the Benicia Capitol State Historic Park. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, nectaring on a rose on Jan. 25, 2020 in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Metallic Green Surprise at Bodega Bay

A Nov. 5th trip to Bodega Bay's Doran Beach yielded a metallic green surprise. What was...
A male metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, foraging on iceplant on Nov. 5 at a Bodega Bay's Doran Beach. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a male metallic green sweat bee on an iceplant on Nov. 5 at a Bodega Bay's Doran Beach. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female metallic green sweat bee nectaring on a purple coneflower in June 2011 at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, part of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. The female is solid green from head to thorax to abdomen, while the male's head and thorax are green, but not the abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)