Bug Blog
No Butterflies Without Caterpillars
How can you hate a caterpillar and love a butterfly? You can't. Some gardeners so love their passionflower vine (Passiflora) that they squirm at the thought of a caterpillar munching it down to...
A very hungry Gulf Fritillary caterpillar working over the Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
From a very hungry caterpillar to a magnificent butterfly. This Gulf Fritillary is nectaring on cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Short Cut
We all take shortcuts. We look for the shortest line at the supermarket, we use keyboard shortcuts, and we text ”how r u?” So, why shouldn't honey bees use shortcuts? They do. If...
A honey bee sipping nectar from a hole drilled by a carpenter bee on a foxglove. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Valley carpenter bee about to drill a hole. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bring Back the Monarchs!
When a monarch butterfly comes fluttering through your yard, grab your camera. Marvel at it beauty, celebrate its presence, and keep it in your memory. It may be become an endangered species the way...
Backlit, the monarch resembles a stained glass window as it touches down on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of a monarch on a Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch spreads its wings, a glorious sight, even as the afternoon light fades. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Close Call
Butterfly expert Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis, isn't feeling so well--to put it mildly--but he still went out on one of his butterfly monitoring...
Art Shapiro saw 19 of this species, Pieris rapae, or cabbage white, today at his North Sacramento study site. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Do You Have a Little Land to Spare for the Bee Buffer Project?
Do you have a little land to spare, such as a quarter of an acre or up to three acres? For honey bee habitat? The Pollinator Partnership, as part of its U.S. Bee Buffer Project, wants to partner...
Honey bee on a California golden poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee heading for lupine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)