It's #PollinatorMonth—take action for native bees! 🌼🐝 Will you urge your Senators to ensure the upcoming #FarmBill supports healthy habitats for #nativebees and all #wildlife? ow.ly/cP0250ZaFaX

🐝 Meet the Protandrena bee — the speedy ground-dwelling sprinter! If bees had an Olympics, Protandrena would be sprinting the 100-meter dash. 🏃‍♀️💨 These small, slender solitary bees are famous for their rapid, darting flight patterns — zipping between flowers so quickly that even seasoned bee watchers have trouble keeping up. Blink and you've missed them. Their name literally means "before Andrena," referring to a quirky anatomical feature scientists once thought made them evolutionary predecessors to the more familiar Andrena mining bees. Turns out they're more like distant cousins than ancestors, but the name stuck. 🧬 Like many native bees, Protandrenas are ground-nesters, digging tidy burrows in sandy or bare soil. Some species are surprisingly social for solitary bees — dozens of females will nest near each other in dense "villages," each minding her own tunnel but enjoying the neighborhood vibe. 🏘️ Bee suburbia! Many Protandrena species are also pollen specialists, with strong loyalties to plants like sunflowers, asters, and evening primroses. 🌻 Without them, those wildflower meadows you love wouldn't bloom nearly as well. So next time you spot a tiny blur of motion over a sunflower — slow down. You may have just witnessed a Protandrena at full throttle. ⚡ #Pollinators #NativeBees #Wildflowers

🐝 Meet the Dufourea bee — the picky eater of the bee world! These slender little solitary bees are the connoisseurs of the pollinator scene. While honeybees happily slurp nectar from anything in bloom, most Dufourea species are oligolectic — a fancy word meaning they collect pollen from just one type of flower. 🌸 Some species exclusively visit bellflowers, others only sunflowers, and a few are so devoted to a single plant that if it disappears, they disappear too. Talk about commitment. 💍 Even cooler: their flight seasons are perfectly synced with their favorite blooms. Many Dufourea adults live just 3–4 weeks, emerging precisely when their plant of choice flowers, then vanishing back underground. Nature's most punctual houseguests. ⏰ Females dig nests in sandy soil, lining each brood cell with a waterproof, cellophane-like secretion that keeps baby bees cozy and dry — basically prehistoric Tupperware. 🥡 Pretty impressive engineering for a bee the size of a rice grain! Because they're such specialists, Dufourea bees are also fantastic indicators of ecosystem health. Spot one and you're looking at a sign that native plants are thriving. 🌱 Tiny bee, picky palate, mighty role. ✨ #Pollinators #NativeBees #Biodiversity

I never get tired of appreciating Hylaeus bees, always contenders for top “Wait, those are bees?” when you point them out to people. Between them and bright green Agapostemon, quality gateway bees combo. [Alameda, CA 5-26-26] #bees #nativebees

This fearsome male Leafcutter bee diligently patrolling his turf… is much smaller than he looks. He’s lost half a sniffing stick, but it hasn’t slowed him down. [Alameda, CA 6–6-26] #bees #nativebees

In this edition of Advanced Bee Grooming 101 - this male Colletes cellophane bee grooming with two of three legs from one side. Quality skills, would recommend. [Alameda, CA 5-23-26] #bees #nativebees

Why are female Melissodes longhorn bees always in a hurry? Because they deal with crazy traffic like this all the time. Dodging a male longhorn bee... who's being chased by a male Megachile perihirta, Western Leafcutter Bee. [Alameda, CA 5-22-26] #bees #nativebees

Build a $5 Bee Hotel — Native Bee Pest Control There are 4,000 species of native bees in North America. Honey bees are just ONE of them. 🐝 And here's the secret most gardeners don't know: native solitary bees are 2-3x BETTER at pollinating your garden than honey bees. They don't make honey, they don't sting, and they desperately need your help. The good news? You can build them a home for $5. What you need: - A bundle of hollow bamboo tubes (or paper straws, or pre-drilled wood blocks) - An empty tin can or wooden box to hold them - A south-facing spot in your garden 🛡️ Some chicken wire (optional — keeps birds out) How to build it: 1️⃣ Cut bamboo tubes to 6-inch lengths 2️⃣ Bundle 15-30 tubes together 3️⃣ Place inside the can/box with open ends facing OUT 4️⃣ Mount 3-5 feet off the ground, facing south or east 5️⃣ Position near flowering plants Who moves in: - Mason bees — early spring pollinators, more efficient than honey bees - Leafcutter bees — gentle, summer pollinators - Carpenter bees — large solo pollinators - Other native solitary species The result? Better pollination, more vegetables, more fruit, more flowers. All from a $5 bundle of bamboo. Pesticide companies will hate this post. Your tomatoes will love it. #NativeBees #BeeHotel #PollinatorGarden

3) This Lasioglossum kincaidii. I think she’s a female because males have longer sniffing sticks (although this one losing half of one does add to the impression). They don’t have very prominent pollen-collecting scopa. 🤔 [Alameda, CA 5-29-26] #bees #nativebees 3/3

2) This Agapostemon subtilior female. They’re extremely dedicated to their work. I spotted two more later when it warmed up for a bit. [Alameda, CA 5-29-26] #bees #nativebees 2/3

Too chilly and drizzly for native bees at lunchtime today but these three boldly sallied forth anyway (and got stuck waiting for a warmup): 1) This unusually small male Longhorn bee. He’s the runt of the litter, he’s not the quitter. [Alameda, CA 5-29-26] #bees #nativebees 1/3

Hylaeus masked bees are out and about in proper numbers now - enough to cause the occasional traffic jam. [Alameda, CA 5-18-26] #bees #nativebees

Female Melissodes Longhorn bees tend to be both hurrying and skittish because they’re outnumbered by a half-dozen frantic males so this one was unusually cooperative to let me record this clip like that. [Alameda, CA 5-26-26] #bees #nativebees

Your latest occasional reminder that we all remain jealous of bees' superior backscratching skills, as demonstrated by this Halictus tripartitus. [Oakland CA 5-17-2026] #bees #nativebees

Like trying to eat two corndogs at the same time, the this little Dialictus bee getting a bit greedy story. [Alameda, CA 3-29-2026] #bees #nativebees

Someone told the bees about #WorldBeeDay because on my way home from work after 6pm the native bees in all weight categories were still active. [Alameda, CA 5-20-26] #bees #nativebees

📣 Calling all farmers 🧑‍🌾👨‍🌾 and photographers 📷! Looking for a way to make a difference for bees 🐝 on World Bee Day? Check out our new Native Bees on Farms project with the Washington Bee Atlas. Learn more at agr.wa.gov/beesonfarms #WorldBeeDay #Pollinators #NativeBees

#DidYouKnow 🐝 most native bees in the Western United States 🏜️ nest underground? These solitary species often work in cooler temperatures earlier in the day. On World Bee Day, we in the Pacific Southwest honor all our pollinators from ground nesting bees to Hawaiian yellow faced bees found only in the Pacific Islands 🌺. ➡️More info: epa.gov/pollinator-protectio… #WorldBeeDay #Pollinators #NativeBees #EPARegion9 #EPAPacificSouthwest

For this #WorldBeeDay, I present this noted innovator Ceratina small carpenter bee who thought “Collecting pollen with six limbs is fine, but if I also use my tongue as a seventh-“ Presented in actual frantic speed vision. [Alameda, CA 5-15-26] #bees #nativebees

The carpenter bees were already on the move just after 7am this morning. They can sense a 80 degree day coming. 🥵 [Alameda, CA 5-18-26] #bees #nativebees