Our beloved fence pets are back. [Xylocopa sonorina male, Alameda, CA 2-28-26] #bees #nativebees

Predator vs. Predator: The Reckoning. It seems Aphid Lions (green lacewing larvae) are just a bit more predatory than lady beetle larvae (Aphid Gators?). Don’t remember seeing this scene before. [Ventura, CA 2-15-26] #entomology #macro

The female dodged me today but not long after a male appeared, taking a break from turf patrol. Presented in quarter-speed-o-vision. [Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, Alameda, CA 2-3-26] #bees #nativebees

The Very Hungry Monarch [Alameda, CA 1-31-26] #butterflies

I spotted a Foothill Carpenter Bee yesterday but didn’t manage to get a picture. I went to another spot I knew they like to frequent today and sure enough... [Alameda, CA 1-30-26] #bees #nativebees

Haven’t seen any native bees since the week of rains we had but now that it’s sunny again we do have Monarchs for entertainment… [Alameda, CA 1-13-26] #entomology #pollinators #butterflies

Christmas Eve had a sunny mid-day in a wet week and the neighborhood blooming manzanitas brought out the Black-tailed Bumble Bees. [Bombus melanopygus, Alameda, CA 12-24-25] #bees #nativebees #bumblebees

Sure, you can count them on the middle fingers they’re giving to the concept of bee seasons, but nonetheless these Agapostemon subtilior males are still diligently trying to conduct their business… in mid-December. [Alameda, CA 12/16/25] #bees #nativebees

“Ma’am, yes you’re being very thorough, but those flowers are all dry and empty, the bush filled with fresh ones is right above you. Ma’am?” [Alameda, CA 12-5-25] #bees #bumblebees #nativebees

Ma’am, you can’t just sit there in people’s driveways, it’s not safe, even for royalty. [Alameda, CA 12-2-25] #bees #bumblebees #nativebees

Segue to that Pygmy Blue video - a highly scientific ThumbParison for scale. It's not the greatest composition, but it is quite difficult to creep up your thumb to them. They don't appreciate it, and it's hard to get the focus plane right... [Alameda, CA 11-8-25] #butterflies

Western Pygmy Blue, America’s smallest butterfly and one of the world’s smallest. About the size of a thumbnail. [Alameda, CA 11-8-25] #butterflies

Ma’am, you can’t just wander the sidewalk like that. Most people pay no attention to where they’re stepping. [Foothill carpenter bee, Alameda, CA 11-4-25] #bees #nativebees

Usually one sees female bees shooing away other male or female bees with the traditional leg swipe, so it was notably bemusing to see a male longhorn bee use it on another male. I'm pretty sure this is the only time I've seen that. [Alameda, CA 8-16-25] #bees #nativebees

In moderately Halloween-appropriate content, this Nomada bee that never takes off her wasp costume. Hey, you gotta appreciate their commitment to the bit... [Alameda, CA 7-20-25] #bees #nativebees

Ever see a complete bee grooming routine up close? I’m not saying this Agapostemon subtilior female and I are heroes, but we are here to help. Enjoy this quality motion picture, complete with PG&E construction noises for that true California flavor. [Alameda, CA 10-27-25] #bees #nativebees

Here's an uncommonly clear view of Anthidium manicatum (European wool carder bee) mating interaction. You can see how the female positions her wings safely out of the way, and how she's interacting with the male's feathery forelegs. [5-24-25] #bees #nativebees

🎼 Tongue shadow, tongue shadow- 🎶 Watch this little male Zadontomerus carpenter bee perform an elaborate nectar-probing routine in a rock purslane flower. [Alameda, CA 10-21-25] #bees #nativebees

Sure, you can use fill flash to have perfectly shadowless macro photos. But where's the Dialictus Drama? Where's the Theater? Bees prefer it theatrical, I'm pretty sure. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ [Alameda, CA 5-29-25] #bees #nativebees

On the one hand, this jumping spider was a bit lacking in ambition, deciding this female Osmia bee was too much to try and take down. On the other hand, there was a moment of "Weeeeel, maaaaaybe-" in there... [Alameda, CA 6-7-25] #bees #nativebees #spiders

Cuckoo vs Cuckoo... the cuckooning? A Nomada bee (perhaps a male, from the looks of the slightly longer sniffing sticks) flies by a Coelioxys bee female (easy to tell from the one large spike on the abdomen vs several small ones males have). [Alameda, CA 6-7-25] #bees #nativebees

Agapostemon are terrible at mating (they still get it done - must be sheer numbers), but they are very, very thorough foragers. [Alameda, CA 10-3-25] #bees #nativebees

When you’re just trying to groom but it’s a rough neighborhood. Presented in scientifically applied SloMoVision. [Leafcutter male aka Mittens vs Agapostemon subtilior male, Alameda, CA 10-7-25] #bees #nativebees

It’s surprising how seldom I see European wool carder bees mating considering how ubiquitous they are around here. But I have seen it more often than usual this year. [Alameda, CA 10-5-25] #bees #nativebees

Sometimes it is your larvae that are the soil predator. Sometimes another relentless soil predator decides to hunt you and it’s quite the nuisance. Stiletto fly vs ant: the reckoning. [Alameda, CA 10-3-25] #flies #diptera #entomology #ants

I was away out of state for a few weeks (and the end of Summer bee season), but I was greeted by a few holdouts when I got back, like this Western Leaf Cutter female, still getting it done with her one remaining sniffing stick. [Alameda, CA 9-30-25] #bees #nativebees

I love dragonflies, even though it is always so frustrating trying to photograph them. But eventually with enough patience you can catch fun scenes like "Variegated Meadowhawk and Flame Skimmer are friends". [Alameda, CA 9-14-25] #dragonfly #dragonflies

Speaking of the end of Longhorn bee season, here is the most impressively elderly male I've yet seen. An amazing amount of hair loss considering they never go into nests, which is how females lose their hairs (hole/tunnel friction). [Alameda, CA 8-16-25] #bees #nativebees

#bees #bumblebees #nativebees

The species identity of these gray Andrena bees that reliably fill the local California Poppies every year in April remains a head-scratcher. Double head-scratcher, according to this one. [Alameda, CA 4-26-25] #bees #nativebees

Like other bee nerds around here, I have had unusually few Hylaeus bee sightings this year. There’s no obvious explanation so far. And yes, that’s a Agapostemon subtilior flyby - many sightings of them this year, as usual. [Alameda, CA 9-9-25] #bees #nativebees

Usually I see wasps digging nests or going into an existing nest, so it was a fun surprise to see this Sphex lucae engaging in some very different nest related work. [Alameda, CA 9-8-25] #entomology #wasps

Ceratina small carpenter bee mating is a more complicated activity than I realized before recording this. Many bees do antenna stroking but note he’s also grabbed her back legs with his and is rapidly stroking them with his middle legs. A lot to keep track of. [Oakland, CA 9-1-25] #bees #nativebees

"Aw, Damselflies are so delicate and charming!" "You mean the beasts of the hunt that snatch you from mid-air and eat you alive head first?" "...that's the ones." [Oakland, CA 8-30-25] #entomology #macro #odonata

The smallest bees also have appropriately proportioned infinitesimal phoretic mites. Look closely at this male Hylaeus bee's left eye. No verdict on whether the mites get shinier as they get smaller. This one is very shiny. [Oakland, CA 7-6-25] #bees #nativebees

Meanwhile on the island we are also winding down to a few elderly males and the occasional female Longhorn bee. You can see this veteran’s age from all the hair loss and his ragged wing edges. [Alameda, CA 8-28-25] #bees #nativebees

Longhorn season is winding down. Just one foraging female in the Cosmo patch and one in the sunflower patch this morning on my walk to work. [Berkeley, CA 8-27-25] #bees #nativebees

“He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” Yes, these are crappy phone photos, but just hum the Jaws musical cue and think of it as cinéma vérité. [Patrolling Western Leafcutter male creeping up on Melissodes longhorn female bee. Alameda, CA 8-25-25] #bees #nativebees

Forever jealous of bees' vastly superior back-scratching capabilities. [Lasioglossum kincaidii, Alameda, CA 8-16-25] #bees #nativebees

Digging a nest in soft sand is pretty close to trying to make a hole in water, so it’s not a surprise Bembix wasps dig lightning fast and keep testing dozens of spots before they’re satisfied. [Alameda, CA 8-16-25] #entomology #wasps

A blister beetle in the genus Nemognatha. The name means "thread jaw" because of that long nectar-drinking tube. They lay eggs on flower heads, then the larvae grab onto the legs of visiting bees and eat everything in their nests. [Alameda, CA 8-16-25] #beetles #bees #nativebees

Bee taxonomy treatises tell you “You see them curling, they Halictus”. I don’t consciously use that diagnostic but this Halictus tripartitus provided a textbook performance. They do love curling. (Not the sport. That I know of.) [Alameda, CA 8-15-25] #bees #nativebees

This unusually friendly male Foothill Carpenter Bee helpfully cooperated to provide these unusually close and clear views of nectar robbing. [Alameda, CA 5-23-25] #bees #nativebees

Just two remaining male longhorn bees at the Cosmo patch on my walk to work this morning. [Berkeley, CA 8-13-25] #bees #nativebees

Tree Aeonium is popular with gardeners and native bees, especially when flowering while hardly anything else does. When even it is mostly spent, if you look closely, you'll see enterprising bees trying to pry open closed flower buds... [Alameda, CA 6-6-25] #bees #nativebees

"Sure, carrying pollen on your legs is fine and all but hear me out-" [Lasioglossum kincaidii, Alameda, CA 5-10-25] #bees #nativebees

Speaking of Phacelia, navigating those extra long filaments to harvest the anthers is also a jungle for mid-sized bees, like this Agapostemon subtilior. [Alameda, CA 5-4-25] #bees #nativebees

Their season is over now, but here's a flashback to the entertainment the Phacelia Jungle provides every year. When you're small enough going up the filaments to get to the anthers is like climbing tree trunks, the this Dialictus bee story. [Alameda, CA 6-7-25] #bees #nativebees

Still Very Sure Wasps Pollinate, The Sequel. Featuring Philanthus Bee Wolf and Oxybelus Uniglumis, the fly huntress. All pollinators love buckwheat (well, maybe not hummingbirds and bats), but it's especially great for wasp watching. [Alameda, CA 6-28-2025] #entomology #macro #wasps #pollinators

Silent movie getting played back at the wrong frame rate? Nope, this is her actual foraging speed. Agapostemon subtilior don’t play around. [Alameda, CA 7-31-25] #bees #nativebees