It's called the "Pride of Madeira" but don't let that name fool you.
True, it's the pride of the Portuguese island of Madeira, where it's endemic, but it's also the joy of Bodega Bay.
"What's that purplish spiked flower that grows somewhat like a yucca or a tower of jewels?" visitors ask. "It's all over the Bodega area."
It's not a yucca, which belongs to the agave family, Agavaceae. It's an Echium candicans, a member of the family Boraginaceae. It's a kissing cousin of Echium wildpretti, or the tower of jewels.
Last Sunday visitors to the Sonoma County coastal town enjoyed the warmth of a spring day and those spectacular blue-to-the-bone-and-purple-as-you-please blooms. An extra bonus: an occasional bumble bee.
Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, identified the bumble bee below as Bombus melanopygus.
This little forager found the Pride of Madeira and the Joy of Bodega Bay.
Attached Images:
Bombus melanopygus heading toward the Pride of Madeira, Echium candicans. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Peek-a-bee: Bombus melanopygus peers beneath the petals of an Echium candicans, also known as the Pride of Madeira. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Top view of a Bombus melanopygus on an Echium candicans, also known as the Pride of Madeira. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)