Posts Tagged: Honey bee It was definitely a hot spot. Honey bees
foraging last week on a pomegranate tree on Hopkins Road, west
of the UC Davis main campus, competed for food on hundreds of
blossoms. We counted five honey bees on one blossom alone in
what amounted to a pushing/shoving match. Most of the bees
probably came from the nearby apiary at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, off Hopkins
Road. The pomegranate is an ancient fruit and the honey bee is
an ancient insect. Millions of years ago, they grew up together
in the Mediterranean region of southern Europe. European
colonists brought the honey bee to our Eastern coast (Jamestown
colony) in 1622; honey bees finally arrived in California in
1853. The pomegranate trees were introduced to California in
1769. Five honey bees on one pomegranate blossom. (Photo by
Kathy Keatley Garvey) Four honey bees on one pomegranate
blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Two bees on one
pomegranate blossom, and about to be three.