Bug Blog
The Monarch and the Mantis
It happened so quickly. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) fluttered to the lantana for a sip of nectar when the unexpected happened. A praying mantis, lying in wait, leaped high and grabbed...
A praying mantis leaps at a fluttering butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
With its viselike grip, the praying mantis holds on to its prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis tightens its grip. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch, mangled from its encounter with the praying mantis, didn't make it. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Love in the Bean Field
Love is where you find it. And sometimes you find it in a bean field. Take the UC Dry Bean Field Day on Sept. 5 at UC Davis. As researchers, growers, UC Cooperative Extension personnel, industry...
Love in the bean field at the UC Dry Bean Field Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Miss Is as Good as a Mile
A miss is as good as a mile...or a smile. The Buckeye (Junonia coenia) is a striking butterfly patterned with eyespots and white bars. We saw one today nectaring on sedum, but with chunks of a wing...
Buckeye butterfly on sedum. Note the missing chunks of its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sideview of Buckeye butterfly-almost a meal for a predator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An intact Buckeye on sedum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey Bee Biology
The newly revised book, Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, by Dewey Caron with Lawrence (Larry) John Connor, is a wealth of information. Published by Wicwas Press of Kalamazoo, Mich., it doubles as a...
Apiculturist Dewey Caron at a Western Apicultural Society meeting. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
About That Bee Nutrition...
Honey bee guru Eric Mussen never misses an opportunity to talk about the importance of honey bee nutrition It's critical issue. Mussen, an Extension apiculturist based at the UC Davis Department of...
Honey bee foraging on a tidy tips wildflower, Layia platyglossa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee on a pomegranate blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee pollinating nectarine blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee packing pollen while foraging on an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)