Spring in Northern California has been good for collecting different native bee species along with other flower visiting insects. With summer approaching fast, native bees are thriving on yellow flowering plants such as Yellow Star Thistle (Centaurea solstitialis) and Great Valley Gumplant (Grindelia camporum). On these two species of flowers I collected 6 genera including Megachile, Triepeolus, Mellisodes, Osmia, Ceratina and Lasioglossum. There is an image below and at the end showing some of the bees collected and pinned.
I also collected some other insects and arthropods in Siskiyou County. I found some swallowtails (Papilio sp.) congregating near a stream bank in the late afternoon. There is an image below of two swallowtails spread on a pinning board. I will later take these butterflies and put them in Riker mount displays for friends and family (See Image Below). Another interesting arthropod I found in Siskiyou County is a forest scorpion . It was found under a rock on the ground, there is an image at the top of the page.. As the summer moves along I will continue to post about interesting insects and arthropods I find.
