The Monarchs are back!
Look what we discovered on our native milkweed plants! Western Monarch butterfly caterpillars! The plants aren't very big yet, and I have...
Ladybug farm at work on the Coastal Yellow Lupines
First the Coastal Yellow Lupines were gorgeous as they started to bloom. But slowly and surely creepy aphids have arrived and multiplied...
Sleeping Bumble Bee
It's such a thrill to discover bees sleeping in the garden. Imagine sleeping right on your breakfast. This yellow-faced bumble bee Bombus...
Yellow-faced Bumble bee on Rock Phacelia
And here is one of our friends, the Yellow-faced Bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, on a Rock Phacelia Phacelia californica. I'm so happy...
Wool carder bee approaching the Yellow Coastal Bush Lupine
The wool carder bees are back! And when they are not being territorial about their favorite flowers, chasing away other bees, they can be...
Happy Easter or Passover!
It's sheer delight to observe daily the Yellow-Faced Bumble Bees as they visit their favorite nectar and pollen sources in the garden. As...
Yellow Faced Bumble Bee pays a visit
At last, another visit from a Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee Bombus vosnesenskii ! Ever since I read that this bee is now considered endangered,...
A Digger Bee, Anthrophora curta, new resident in the garden
I finally figured out what kind of digger bee this little one is, an Anthrophora curta. Until now I only observed Ivory Banded Digger...
First Western monarch sighting in the garden
Welcome back! With their population drastically diminishing, anytime I see a Western monarch I find it such an uplifting experience. And...
Yellow faced bumble bee in a California poppy
Ah, my first observation of the year of a Yellow-faced bumble bee Bombus vosnesenskii in a California poppy in the garden. I rarely see...
