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