Tag Archives: Yellow-faced Bumblebee

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Gail Jackson photographed a yellow-faced bumblebee flying out of a California poppy blossom. Yellow pollen is coating the face and legs of this pollinator, nearly matching the patch of bright yellow hair on her head. If you look closely, you can see several grains of pollen drifting down from the bee. And she sports an orange pollen basket, called a corbicula, on her hind legs.

You can see much more of Gail's wonderful nature photography at her Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/gailyimages/

Thanks to Gail for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

It's toasty warm here today. The smoke from the fire at Salt Point State Park/Timber Cove is south of us so it's a beautiful blue-sky breezy warm day here!

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Allen Francis got this great photo of a Yellow-faced Bumblebee collecting pollen. You can even see the blur of her wings!

It's amazing she can still fly with so much pollen on her, and she was going for more! These native bumblebees are important pollinators. She is a good reason not to use pesticides in your garden!

Thanks to Allen for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

After a very warm day yesterday, today - Wednesday - a fog bank is keeping it nice and mild.

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It's fascinating to actually see the blur of the wings of this Yellow-faced Bumblebee gathering pollen. Rozanne Rapozo caught magic!

Bumblebees beat their wings about 200 times per second. Perhaps the wings beat a bit slower while this beauty is gathering her pollen and in the process pollinating this flower.

Thanks to Rozanne for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

There's a big fogbank over the ocean and along some coastal bluffs. The wind really picked up again this afternoon. It's in the mid-70s at Rick's and my place in Anchor Bay.

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The most common bumblebee seen here is the hard-working Yellow-faced Bumblebee, Bombus vosnesenskii. Judith Fisher saw one of these important pollinators gathering pollen on Lupine at Gualala Point Regional Park.

Judith’s photo shows that the Yellow-faced Bumblebee has a nice packet of orange pollen in one of her corbiculae,  aka pollen basket, which are grooves in her hind legs. Inside the corbiculae are specialized branched hairs called scopae.

I wondered which flowers provided her with orange pollen. The most likely suspects are the Lupine Judith observed the bumblebee feeding on, an obvious clue. Also California Poppies, which are blooming in abundance, offer orange pollen to our native pollinators.

It’s interesting and fun to know that the color of the pollen varies from flower to flower. Black pollen is rare, but I read Beekeepers always know when Oriental poppies are in flower, because homecoming bees are dusted with black pollen.

Thanks to Judith for allowing me to share her photo with you here.

It's sunny and warm here today. Lots of visitors here, escaping the inland heat!

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Connie King wrote, “I thought you might enjoy seeing this shot of pollen-laden bees feasting on a Matijilla Poppy from our yard today. Can you believe those bright yellow thighs!?! Or maybe that’s what the ‘bees knees’ is all about.”

I checked with entomologist Mary Lou Flint. She wrote, “Definitely Honey Bees. Nice shot of their well-filled pollen baskets! It’s amazing how much pollen, and nectar, they can carry in their ‘saddle bags,’ apparently up to 30% of their weight.”

Honey Bees are not native here but they are used to pollinate many crops. As several people on the Mendonoma Coast have hives of these bees, they are often seen in our gardens, feeding on flowers. I am also seeing them at the small waterfall in our courtyard. They are coming for water!

Here is one of our native bees, a Yellow-faced Bumblebee, photographed by Paul Brewer.

Thanks to Connie and Paul for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

Good news! Several Monarch Butterflies were seen today, one in Timber Cove and another in Gualala. Fingers crossed that we see many more in the days and weeks ahead. Today is a spectacular day of blue skies and warm temps. The fog is AWOL and the air is clear from Saturday's wonderful rain.