Posts Tagged: digger bees
The Bees of Bodega Head

There's more to Sonoma County's Bodega Head than the stunning views, crashing waves,...
A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, returning to her nest on the sand cliffs of Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, edges closer to her nest on the sand cliffs of Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A bee-ant encounter: The digger bee, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, encounters an ant, Formica transmontanis, as identified by ant specialists Phil Ward and Brendon Boudinot of UC Davis. Both species nest on the sand cliffs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, excavating a nest on the sand cliffs of Bodega Head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Four digger bees, Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana, appear in this image at Bodega Head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A view from Bodega Head. Most tourists are unaware of the digger bees that inhabit the sand cliffs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Those Incredible Digger Bees and Their Nest Parasites

If you want to learn about digger bees and the exciting research that UC Davis evolutionary...
Leslie Saul-Gershenz (left) and curator Emma Cluff stand by their display at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A digger bee, Habropoda pallida, with blister bee larvae. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)
Why Silver Digger Bees Are Like Gold

Why silver digger bees are like gold... Remember those "long lost" silver digger bees found last...
Close-up of female silver digger bee, Habropoda miserabilis, taken at Waldport, Ore. in 2015. (Copyrighted Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz. Used with Permission)
Habropoda miserabilis male and female—the male is mate-guarding the female after mating with her, preventing her from mating with other males. (Copyrighted photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz. Used with permission)
This graphic, the work of Leslie Saul-Gershenz, details information on the male and female of the species.
Nice to See You!

Nice to see you! In early spring and throughout most of the summer, we saw scores of digger bees,...
A male digger bee, Anthophora urbana, (as identified by Robbin Thorp of UC Davis) heads for a lavender blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male digger bee, Anthophora urbana, nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male digger bee, Anthophora urbana, finishes foraging on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sleeping with the Enemy

Just call it sleeping with the enemy. But how can you sleep when you sense a predator in your...
A praying mantis climbs down a lavender stem to get a closer look at the sleeping boy bees, longhorned digger bees, Melissodes agilis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis peers at what could be prey but they're sleeping. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis "assumes the position" on another lavender stem as it waits for live prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Whew! That was close. A sleepy male longhorned digger bee gets ready to fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)