Bug Blog
Wearing of the Green--and the Yellow
St. Patrick's Day is the "wearing of the green," but it's also the "wearing of the yellow." Wild mustard, that is. If you drive through the hills of Napa, around St. Patrick's Day, or from...
Bee hives nestled in a field of green and yellow (mustard) along Highway 12, Napa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee foraging in mustard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Do Honey Bees Impact the Native Bees?
The European honey bee, also known as the Western honey bee, has been in the United States for s-o-o-o long that we think it's a native. It's not. European colonists brought the honey bee (Apis...
A honey bee and a yellow-faced bumble bee sharing a purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two's company: A honey bee and a yellow-faced bumble bee forage on Scabiosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
'Teddy Bear' Bees
Along about this time of year, the calls come pouring into the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the Bohart Museum of Entomology. "I just saw a golden bumble bee. I think it's a...
Male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, is blond with green eyes. This is on a germander bush, Teucrium fruitcans. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Female Valley carpenter bee is solid black. This is on a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarchs 'n Milkweed
Monarchs and milkweed are in the news again. As well they should be. The declining monarch population, coupled with the decreasing scarcity of their host plant, the milkweed, is disturbing. The...
A monarch butterfly nectaring on a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is a milkweed, the host plant of the monarch. This photo was taken in the Melissa Garden, Healdsberg. http://www.themelissagarden.com/ (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Going 'Rad'
It may not be the farmer's friend, but it's the beekeeper's friend. Wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum), a member of the mustard family, Brassicaceae, is considered a weed, but I consider it a...
A honey bee heading for wild radish. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee in motion. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)