Nice work, mama! 🐝

A mantis nymph looking before she leaps. (Stagmomantis limbata, SoCal) Found in my garden today on a native buckwheat (Eriogonum sp.). The various species of buckwheats are among my favorite native plants; they are often pretty, in and out of flower, and attract tons of insects. 🐙🌿📷 #BugSky

Chocolate tubes in their “pink tubes on sticks” phase. Stemonitis sp. #slimemold #myxomycetes #fungifriends

Leafcutter bee cutting a leaf and bringing it back to her nest :)

Male Gasteruption “carrot” wasp spotted on feverfew today. The ladies should be around any time now. 🌼🐝

I’m still amazed at how bizarre this developing slime mold looks. This will turn into chocolate tubes later. Stemonitis sp. #slimemold #myxomycetes #fungifriends #naturephotography

A quiet moment with an ancient. 🐲

Tell me it’s summer without telling me it’s summer. 🌱🧄

They’re just giving it away out there. 🐝 😂

Honeycomb coral slime mold. Ceratiomyxa porioides. #slimemold #myxomycetes #fungifriends

1st of 2026!! 🐝 I’ve been a little bummed because I hadn’t stumbled across any bumblebee nests this year… and then this happened. 🎉

Another day, another random piece of #trashure unearthed by the moles. Seems this may have once plugged up the spout of an old Eagle gas can. ⛽️

Let the fledging begin. 🪶 Parent left / Noob right

Every year around this time my kitchen gifts me brown lacewings. I find it to be one of the sweetest things about living here. One year it started and it’s been happening every year since. ☺️

I’ve been photographing a lot of big things this past week, but sometimes it’s the little things that really catch my eye. 🌿

Checked some columbine pods to see if the seeds were ready and wasn’t expecting these brilliant green gems. 🌱🤩

One more for this year’s collection. 🪶 #coopershawk

Big patch of chocolate tubes. Stemonitis sp. #slimemold #myxomycetes #fungifriends

My (mostly) macro photo flags - I try to make new ones every year. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Good excuse to bring back rainbow bumblebear ✨

The garden is full of about to’s… 🌱🌷

Sleepy buddy. 🐝

Gifts from M. Nature. 🌱🌸 I’ve always wanted to have native roses but never got around to buying one. Then late last season I was poking around in a wild spot & caught a glimpse of what looked like rose leaves. And today for the first time I got to see their blooms and inhale their delicious scent. 💖

Made a tiny friend tonight. 🐝 Found her crawling up my sweatshirt & lost her when playing videographer. Looked everywhere or so I thought. Not to worry, we were reunited when I was back in the house & heard a faint buzzing from under my sweatshirt. Safely recovered & relocated somewhere beautiful. 🌸

If you build it… 🐝 #blueorchardmasonbees #osmialignaria #nativebees

All shapes and sizes. 🐝

I was thinking about ending #NoMowMay a little early. Slight change of plans.

Kikkervisjes zijn dol op watermeloen Tadpoles love water melon.

Let’s start #WorldBeeDay with the most important meme about the disparity between bee conservation efforts. Nearly all bee conservation efforts represent honeybees, a managed agricultural product easy to identify. Fortunately, bumblebees are getting some conservation love nowadays.

Ran into these two lovebirds having a post coital snooze in the rain. Woke up and had one more go before heading their separate ways. 🐝

Gorgeous fuzzy friend relaxing in the hops. 🐝

Practically overnight, we go from pristine blooms to having little proboscis holes. 🌱🐝

What was once only a few plants has grown up to become a small patch of Western starflower. Such a welcome surprise! 🌱🌿🌸🤗

Her niche #drawing

Is nativorites a word? 🤭 🎺 Western Trumpet Honeysuckle & 🔥 Fringecup

Be gentle with yourself.

“Telling the bees”—Local artist-educator encourages citizen science to save native bees thelasource.com/social/2026/...

nxt lvl

Buzz Buzz… pollination. 🐝

Looking forward to summer ☀️

Grape-like bundles of slime mold ripening on a tree. Badhamia utricularis. #slimemold #myxomycetes #fungifriends

I’ll be doing two talks at Vancouver Libraries this month. Hope to see you! Wed May 6, 2026: 10: 00 am-11:30 am, Kerrisdale Branch Tuesday, May 12, 2026: 2 pm- 3:30 pm, Dunbar Branch Find out how can be a citizen scientist hero that helps make BC a healthy place for bees, butterflies and birds.

Spoiler alert: Bumblebee nests generally exist for a matter of months. Maximum number of #bees run to hundreds not thousands. They don’t swarm. They are not aggressive. They don’t need to be - and shouldn’t be - moved. You’re lucky to have them - enjoy and celebrate them! 2/14

First this, then that. 🐝

Spring cleaning. 🧹🐝 A batch of last year’s tubes were used by grass-carrying wasps and they’ve become extremely popular with the mason bees. Though I have a ridiculous number of fresh tubes available the girls really seem to prefer these pre-used nurseries.

Do you see what 👁️ see? #fungifriends

If you have mason #bees then you know how much trouble Houdini flies can be, so I often squish them while watching the bees. Recently, I’ve seen a wee little jumping spider hanging out by the mason bee houses, and this weekend while I was stalking a fly my new spider bestie jumped in to help us out.

Oh hai 🦉