Bug Squad

It’s nearing the end of National Pollinator Week, June 22-28.

More than 80 percent of all flowering plants rely on pollinators, which are animals that transfer pollen between flowers, facilitating plant reproduction.

When most people think of pollinators, they think of bees and butterflies. But other insects, including moths, flies, beetles and wasps, are pollinators, too. And so are such mammals as birds and bats.

Hummingbirds are the most common avian pollinators. These high-energy birds are drawn to the nectar of bright red, orange and pink tubular flowers. While sipping nectar, they hover, transferring pollen from the plant to their foreheads and beaks.

We've been watching and welcoming Anna's hummingbirds, Calypte anna, to our pollinator garden.

https://ucanr.edu/blog/bug-squad/article/hummingbirds-are-pollinators-too

In observation of National Pollinator Week (June 22-28), meet a digger bee, Anthophora urbana.

This solitary bee, which nests in the ground, is also called an "urbane digger bee." A species of anthophorine bee in the family Apidae, it's native to North America and Central America.
https://ucanr.edu/blog/bug-squad/article/digging-digger-bees

Wasps don't get much recognition as pollinators during National Pollinator Week, June 22-28.

But they are pollinators.

Following her seminar several years ago to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, Professor Amy Toth of Iowa State University ( ), known for her expertise in the biology of social bees and wasps, foraging and social behavior, insect nutrition, and genetics and genomics of bees and wasps, told us why we should love wasps.

Her message bears repeating, especially during National Pollinator Week.

https://ucanr.edu/blog/bug-squad/article/wasps-are-pollinators-too

Paying tribute to National Pollinator Month...

When you visit the Joseph and Emma Lin Biological Orchard and Garden near the Louis K. Mann laboratory on the UC Davis campus, you'll see as the sign says "a slice of biodiversity."

Moving closer, you'll read: "This unique landscape showcases a slice of biodiversity in the heart of central campus and is a hub for outdoor learning."

A Slice of Biodiversity at the BOG | Bug Squad Image