Posts Tagged: Bodega Bay

Polyester Bee

Ever heard of a polyester bee?

We encountered a plasterer or "polyester" bee on a recent trip to Bodega Bay.

A female Colletes fulgidus longiplumosus, as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, was foraging on a seaside daisy (Erigeron) along a sandy cliff off Bodega Head, Sonoma County.

She was covered in pollen.

The common name, polyester bee (family Colletidae), refers to the cellophane-like polyester material females secrete to line their burrows, Thorp said. These bees, he noted, nest in the same cliff faces with Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana (a faux bumble bee), but do not have turrets. A polyester membrane “doggy door" guards the nest entrances.

Worldwide, there are more than 20,000 identified species of bees.

The polyester bee is one of them.

Polyester Bee

POLYESTER Bee, a female Colletes fulgidus longiplumosus, foraging on seaside daisy at Bodega Head, Sonoma County. The name, "polyester" bee, is derived from the cellophane-like polyester material females secrete to line their burrows, according to native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp of UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollen Dust

PARDON MY POLLEN--A female Colletes fulgidus longiplumosus, her abdomen covered with pollen, forages on a seaside daisy (Erigeron) at Bodega Head, Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Nesting Site

NESTING SITE at Bodega Head shows a sandy cliff dotted with the homes of solitary bees. They include Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana (faux bumble bee), which builds turrets and the Colletes fulgidus longiplumosus, which shares the same cliff faces but does not build turrets, according to native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp of UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bumble Bees at Bodega Bay

Thar’s gold in them thar hills.

And also bumble bees.

If you visit the Sonoma County coastal town of Bodega Bay, and drive up to Bodega Head overlooking the ocean, you’ll see a carpet of gold flowers known as coastal goldfields or Lasthenia minor.

And you’re certain to see bumble bees nectaring those flowers.

Noted bumble bee expert Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor at UC Davis, says the most common species of  bumble bee at Bodega is the yellow face bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii.  The second most common? Bombus bifarius.

Goldfields are natives and so are bumble bees. Goldfields belong to the Asteraceae family, also known as the aster, daisy or sunflower family.

Want to learn more about bumble bees? Bumble bees are very much in the news. Thorp wrote a piece for a UC Berkeley publication. He recently addressed the Smithsonian Institute on the plight of the Western bumble bees and gave a Webinar at the UC Davis Department of Entomology on Franklin's bumble bee, an insect he fears may be extinct.

Gordon Frankie, Robbin Thorp and colleagues also wrote the lead story on native bees, featured in the latest edition of California Agriculture.

It's good to see the plight of the bumble bees drawing so much interest and it's good to see all the bumble bees at Bodega Bay.

BB at BB.

Windswept Bumble Bee

BUMBLE BEE (Bombus bifarious) nectaring coastal goldfields at Bodega Bay. This species is the second most common bumble bee species at Bodega Bay. This is a worker or female. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male Bumble Bee

MALE BUMBLE BEE, a Bombus bifarius, nectaring coastal goldfields at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Eyes Have It

THIS BUMBLE BEE, a worker or female bee, is a Bombus vosnesenskii, the most common bumble bee at Bodega Bay. She is nectaring coastal goldfields (Lasthenia minor), a native wildflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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