Bug Blog
All Wrapped Up
Just call it a missed opportunity. Catmint (genus Nepeta) draws scores of insects, from honey bees to leafcutter bees to European wool carder bees. It also draws spiders. We usually see a cellar...
A cellar spider eyes a honey bee in the catmint (Nepeta). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All wrapped up--a cellar spider nabs another cellar spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Touchdown! At Last!
For months, I've been waiting ah, so patiently (well, not always s-o-o-o patiently) for the gulf fritillary butterfly to touch down on our Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. A perfect match, I figured....
Gulf fritillary butterfly. Agraulis vanillae, lands on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf fritillary butterfly spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A perfect match: gulf fritillary on Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Big on the Bulbine
Look at the Xylocopa on the Xanthorrhoeaceae. If that sounds like a mouthful, think of the mountain or foothill carpenter bees, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, on bulbine from the genus...
A male mountain carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, nectaring on bulbine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male mountain carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, caught in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Making of a Bee
Take one nationally celebrated artist and one nationally renowned entomologist. Blend together. Add their deep concern for the declining honey bee population. Then just add bees. Ceramic...
The Miss Bee Haven Project starts with a lump of clay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Special tools are used. The hole is for a metal rod. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Paint is added next. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wings receive special treatment. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Almost ready to fire in the kiln. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The finished product: a ceramic bee on a metal rod. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
How Fast Can a Honey Bee Fly?
How fast can a honey bee fly? We captured these photos today of a honey bee nectaring on catmint (genus Nepeta). The bee was moving fast. To blur the wings, we set the shutter speed at 1/640 of a...
A honey bee can beat its wings 230 times every second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee spinning like a top. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)