California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists

by Gordon W. Frankie, Robbin W. Thorp, Rollin E. Coville

California is home to over sixteen hundred species of undomesticated bees—most of them native—that populate and pollinate our gardens, fields, and urban green spaces. In this absorbing guidebook, some of the state's preeminent bee and botany experts introduce us to this diverse population.  California Bees and Blooms  holds a magnifying glass up to the twenty-two most common genera (and six species of cuckoo bees), describing each one's distinctive behaviors, social structures, flight season, preferred flowers, and enemies. Enhancing these descriptions are photographs of bees so finely detailed they capture pollen scattered across gauzy wings and iridescent exoskeletons. Drawing from years of research at the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab, California Bees and Blooms presents an authoritative look at these creatures, emphasizing their vital relationship with flowers. In addition to opening our eyes to the beautiful array of wild bees in our midst, this book provides information on fifty-three bee-friendly plants and how to grow them. Just a few square feet of poppies, sage, and phacelia are enough to sustain a healthy population of wild bees, transforming an urban or suburban garden into a world that hums and buzzes with life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Ecology

320 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2014

Reviews

[Lada · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, a book on bees in the California garden plus the blooms they like, that's super cool. Much good stuff in there. There were a few things that would have made this easier for a novice like me to use. One would have been a two-page spread (or several) of drawings or photos of carcasses of the bees labeled to get a sense of the relative sizes and shapes. Maybe another graphic with speeds and flight patterns of different bees. With just a single photo where all the bees are zoomed to the same size, it is really difficult to distinguish them. The wing differences are neat (and were drawn), but that's more for if you have a dead speciment to work with. Another helpful thing would have been using common names when listing which bees are attracted to which flower (less flipping back to the index to figure out what the latin name refers to). But overall very glad I chanced upon this book.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like the portion on plants that attract bees. I love California native plants, and I think there should have been more of emphasis on planting exclusively native plants, since we know these are better for birds, bees and all wildlife than exotic plants. I liked learning about the incredible diversity of species among native bees.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun read. I enjoyed reading the profiles of the bees and plants. So many cool plants and bees. I wish I could remember all the names. I still have a lot of trouble with the binomial naming system.
My favorite tips were to use binoculars if you want to observe bees for a distance. And I also liked the tips on photographing bees. I had thought that I could use a magnifying glass for observing bees. I had not thought of using binoculars. I can't wait to get a pair of binoculars so I can observe bees. I had never thought of taking pictures of bees. It never occurred to me that I could take a picture of a bee. I can't wait to take pictures of bees. I also liked the glossaries of bee & plant terms.
I enjoyed reading this book a lot. I only wish I remembered the bee and plant names better. I need to become a memory champion.

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! Who knew there were so many different bees that one could attract to their garden? I'm so inspired to add so many different plants to my flower and vegetable gardens. An added benefit is that I'm also able to identify so many more California natives that I see in my neighborhood.

Great text - quite readable. Wonderful photographs. Definitely staying on my garden reference shelf.

[Miguette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great for those of us in California as it deals specifically with bees that we will see here, so makes ID easier by narrowing it down to bees in our area.

Well written and enjoyable. I didn’t really need the second half of the book- but if you are starting a bee garden it’s a great resource.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chock full of good info.

[Merry]

Some bloom dates. Use as reference.