Bug Blog
Sold on the Salvia
Ever watched Valley carpenter bees (Xylocopa varipuncta) foraging on salvia? Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis,...
A female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, forages on grape-scented sage, Salvia melissodora. Note the "pollen cap." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Check out the "pollen cap" on this female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, foraging on grape-scented sage, Salvia melissodora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Luck Be a Lady! (A Painted Lady)
The "Painted Ladies" are back in the Davis area. These are not the two-legged type, but the winged type--Vanessa cardui. They're migrating and driving UC Davis entomology and ecology students nuts....
A Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, nectaring on lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Eating o' the Green
It was not the greatest of St. Patrick's Day surprises. A green lacewing nailed by a garden spider? And on the porch light fixture? So true. Green lacewings, beneficial insects that they are (the...
If you look closely, this green lacewing that fluttered onto a porch light fixture, is not alone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Deep in the shadows, a garden spider feasts on a green lacewing. The spider is a Western spotted orb weaver, Neoscona oaxacensis, as identified by senior museum scientist Steve Heydon of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
How to Tell It's Almost Spring
You can tell it's almost spring when you hear bees buzzing on the flowering crab apples. Spring officially starts Friday, March 20, but don't tell that to the bees. They're in the midst of their...
Honey bee foraging on flowering crab apple. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Check out the pollen load of this honey bee on flowering crab apple. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This bee is making a beeline for the next crab apple blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This bee is coated with pollen from the crab apple blossoms. These photos were taken in the Sonoma Cornerstone gardens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
When a Butterfly Looks Like a Penguin
A sharp-eyed youngster noticed the resemblance. When entomologist Jeff Smith, a volunteer associate at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, was showing elementary school...
This is an owl butterfly, genus Caligo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The spectacular Morpho cypress cyanide. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
If you haven't seen a single monarch yet this year, you'll see plenty of them at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)