Bug Blog
Looking for a Thistle
Perhaps it was searching for a thistle. The Mylitta Crescent butterfly (Physiodes mylitta) did not find the thistle—at least in our bee garden. What it did find were the leaves of a tower of...
Mylitta Crescent butterfly (Physiodes mylitta) on the leaf of a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Occupied! This bull thistle is occupied by a spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Very Showy Butterfly
There's a good reason why lepidopterists call the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) "showy." Its bright orange-red wings, spangled iridescent silver on the underside, and a four-inch wingspan all...
Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) in flight over a passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary checking out a place to lay her eggs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary warming her wings on a passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey Bees Need Water, Too!
These triple-digit temperatures make us all thirst for water. Honey bees need water, too. If you see them taking a sip from your birdbath or taking a dip in your pool, the "sip" means they're...
Honey bees find water where they can. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A flat floating cork in the fountain of The Melissa Garden, Healdsburg, is great for bees to buzz down and safely take a sip. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Karate Kick!
If you've ever watched a karate competition, you've probably seen the roundhouse kick, tornado kick, the reverse roundhouse kick or the flying side kick. But have you ever seen a bee do that? We...
A male longhorned sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua, foraging on a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male longhorned sunflower bee, Melissodes agilis (right), targets the larger Svastra obliqua. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Melissodes agilis shoots straight up after a powerful kick by Svastra obliqua. (PHoto by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Melissodes agilis (left) goes sprawling. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
How Revolutionary!
There's a fly on President George Washington's nose. Why shouldn't there be? When you pick up Sarah Albee's book, Bugged: How Insects Changed the World, you'll also see and read about mosquitoes,...
This photo of a bee sting, by Kathy Keatley Garvey, appears in Sarah Albee's book, "Bugged."