Posts Tagged: gulf fritillary
It Suits Them to a 'T'
It suits them to a "T." And the "T" is for Tithonia. Many species of butterflies frequent our Tithonia, also known as Mexican sunflower. Like its name implies, it's a member of the sunflower...
Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) on Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) on Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch (Danaus plexippus) on Tithonia. (PHoto by Kathy Keatley Garvey
A skipper (family Hesperiidae) on Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Why Influx of Caterpillars Linked to Hawks
"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe."--John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra Muir said it well. Muir (1938-1914), the naturalist...
Three's company! Three juvenile Cooper's hawks, as identified by Andrew Engilis, Jr. curator of the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology,cooling off in an urban birdbath in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary gets ready to lay an egg. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary caterpillars defoliating the passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's a Meloid to Do?
So, what's a meloid beetle to do? Here you are, a meloid beetle foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) and these long-horned digger bees keep dive-bombing you and pestering you. Then a...
A male long-horned digger bee targets a pest, a meloid beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary butterfly shares a Mexican sunflower with a meloid beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a meloid beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A meloid beetle about to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keaetley Garvey)
Right Color, Wrong Species
You never know what you'll see in your pollinator garden. That's why it's always a good idea to carry a camera with you, or you might miss a bit of drama. Not in drama queens, but in drama...
A Gulf Fritillary butterfly checking out a red flameskimmer dragonfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Closer and closer. The Gulf Frit heads straight for the flameskimmer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Oops! You're not a prospective mate. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sharing a Mexican Sunflower
Two's company. Three's a crowd? Not necessarily. Sometimes we wish it were half a dozen. Last July we were admiring two newly emerged Gulf Fritillary butterflies on Mexican sunflowers...
A Western Tiger Swallowtail readies for a landing on the same flower occupied by a Gulf Fritillary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two's company. Three's a crowd? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)