Bug Blog
Training for the Olympics?
Training for the Olympics? If you step into your garden in the early morning, you might see a male bumble bee sleeping on one of your plants. The females return to their nests at night, but...
Male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, appears to be doing a chin up. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Anise Swallowtail: Have You Seen Me?
An anise swallowtail fluttered in and out of the tall anise bordering the banks of the Benicia Marina. A beautiful sight. The female butterfly (Papilio zelicaon), as identified by butterfly expert...
Female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, as identified by butterfly expert Art Shapiro of UC Davis, visiting anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, touches down on anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Up and away--the female anise swallowtail flutters away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
European paper wasp, apparently scouting the anise for butterfly eggs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Waiting Game
When you visit the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, the half-acre bee friendly garden planted next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis,...
Praying mantis on Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Green-Eyed Bee
So you're poking around in your garden and you see a bee on a flowering artichoke that you've never seen foraging there before. On sunflowers, yes. On artichokes, no. A closer look--and huge green...
Long-horned sunflower bee tucked in a flowering artichoke. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male long-horned sunflower bee (Svastra obliqua expurgata) before he buzzed off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An Old Flame (Skimmer)
Gotta love those flame skimmers. It's a joy to watch these firecracker-red dragonflies (Libellula saturata) make their presence known. They dart over our fish pond, snatch an insect, and then perch...
Flame skimmer perched on a tomato-plant stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of flame skimmer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)