Yellow-faced Bumble Bee

The Yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is common in coastal southern California. The bumble bee featured in the first set of photographs might have been a recently emerged queen based upon her large size and the date. I photographed her on March 25, and again on April 3, 2024. On those dates she visited a… Continue reading Yellow-faced Bumble Bee

Black-tailed Bumble Bee

Where I live the Black-tailed Bumble Bee is usually the first species I see in January or February, depending on local conditions. On a walk last winter I stopped by a small community park near my house. The date was February 15, 2024. The park has a few native plant cultivars, including three manzanita shrubs.… Continue reading Black-tailed Bumble Bee

White-Shouldered Bumble Bee

The White-shouldered Bumble Bee (Bombus appositus), is common in the western states at higher elevations including the Sierra Nevada, Cascades and Rocky Mountain meadows and slopes. The species is less common in coastal areas. The female bees in these photos are feeding on Wild Bergamot. This species of bumble bee has a long tongue that… Continue reading White-Shouldered Bumble Bee

Variations of Form

On a day of her choosing, summer exiles her vernal sister.Dispatched from the realm with a sidelong scorch, spring retreats. Eager seeds, too long in slumber, awaken beneath her footsteps. Their coats crack open. Spines of bright chlorophyll unfurl, an Homage of leaflets, tender cairns that mark her journey. As a mountain lion she traverses… Continue reading Variations of Form

Triptych

Panel One: a male Valley Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa sonorina), collects nectar from Narrow Leaf milkweed (Asclepias fascicularis) blossoms. On the Sunrise Trail in Conejo Open Space, May 27, 2022. Panel Two: a Lorquin’s Admiral (Limenitis lorquini) collects nectar from Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) blossoms. On the Sunrise Trail in Conejo Open Space, May 27, 2022.… Continue reading Triptych

Costa’s Hummingbird

I lived in Tucson, Arizona during the month of November, 2023. These screenshots are from a video I took at the Tohono Chul Botanical Garden during my visit there. I used my iPhone camera. The white background of a wall behind the action was really helpful with getting some definition and the colors to stand… Continue reading Costa’s Hummingbird

Two Form Bumble Bee

I spent some time in Steamboat Springs, Colorado last summer. I visited the Yampa River Botanic Park three times while I was there. The park is compact and features trees, shrubs and flowering perennials, both native and exotics from around the world. I went there because I thought there was a good chance that I… Continue reading Two Form Bumble Bee

Morrison Bumble Bee

The historic range of the Morrison Bumble Bee includes most of the western United States from south to north and into British Columbia, Canada. Biologists who specialize in bumble bee conservation assessed the species’ population status in 2014 as vulnerable, which means that in its historic range, the species’ abundance and persistence have declined significantly.… Continue reading Morrison Bumble Bee

Gratitude

Yesterday, on the last day of 2024, one of my favorite authors, Jeff VanderMeer, posted a question on the social media platform Bluesky. His question was: What are you grateful for from the past year? (Yes, there are lots of terrible things to be un-thankful for, but that’s not this thread.) I am a grumpy… Continue reading Gratitude

Crossroads

We gathered at the center where all roads meet.One left breadcrumbs that were eaten by song birds. Two looked back to find a sand storm erasing her progress. Three was on a journey to wherever she found herself.Four had a compass that kept forgetting its purpose. Five arrived with a plan, this destination was on… Continue reading Crossroads

Crotch’s Bumble Bee

Prologue The first time I observed a Crotch’s Bumble Bee, Bombus crotchii (B. crotchii) was in June of 2019, during the first summer after the Woolsey Fire. Prior to that sighting, nature had already demonstrated its remarkable power: Higher than average rain in the desert and surrounding areas had spiked a spring wildflower super-bloom. An… Continue reading Crotch’s Bumble Bee

Tower 45 Terroir: Holocene Days

On Monday mountain bike rides up Albertson Fire Road, she sometimes stops at a high point along the way where the utility tower, so-called Tower 45, holds court on the flattened top of a ridge. Here she can take in a 360 degree view of the valleys below and of the mountains near and distant.… Continue reading Tower 45 Terroir: Holocene Days