Bug Blog
Freeloaders Never Miss a Meal
If your dog is well, a little chunky, you're probably accustomed to someone saying "Fido never misses a meal, does he?" Well, those little freeloader flies never miss a meal, either. They not...
A banded garden spider (Argiope trifasciata) wraps a bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Freeloader flies, family Milichildae, gather around the abandoned prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of freeloader flies on a bee wrapped by a banded garden spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sheridan Miller: A Tireless Worker Bee
Her name is Sheridan Miller. If there's a human equivalent of a honey bee, she's it. She's a worker bee. We first met Sheridan Miller, 11, of Mill Valley when she visited the Harry...
Beekeeper Brian Fishback helping Sheridan Miller with her hive. (Photo by Craig Miller)
Sheridan Miller, then 11, was honored by Neal Van Alfen, then dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, at the opening of the Department of Entomology's bee garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Guess What Other Insects Like Milkweed!
Monarch butterflies aren't the only insects that like milkweed. Honey bees, lady beetles and aphids, do, too. We found all three insects, plus a monarch butterfly, on our scarlet...
Labor Day activity: A honey bee and a lady beetle (see center of blossoms) forage on a scarlet milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Oleander aphids also like the scarlet milkweed (along with honey bees and monarch butterflies). The milkweed is the host plant of the monarch butterfly but this plant "hosts" other insects, too. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch butterfly laying eggs on a scarlet milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Know Your Dragonflies!
You're walking through a park and suddenly spot a dragonfly perched on a stick. "What's that?" you ask. As you edge closer, it takes off. "Missed it!" Well, you won't want to miss the Bohart...
A red flameskimmer dragonfly, (Libellula saturata) perches on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Variegated meadowhawk (Sympetrum corruptum). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Widow skimmer (Libellula luctuosa). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Red-veined meadowhawk (Sympetrium madidum). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Find the Praying Mantis!
Whether you call them "praying" mantis or "preying" mantis, one thing is for sure: they are difficult to find. Tucked away in vegetation and as quiet as "the proverbial mouse" (except praying...
Late afternoon sun gives away the location of this praying mantis hidden in a bed of lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dead Tithonia leaves camouflage this praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A very gravid female hanging out in the lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
These are all green leaves, right? No, there's a green praying mantis here, too. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)