Backyard Orchard News
Hanford Ag Academy Does Science at Lindcove
Thirty Hanford Ag Academy 9th grade students, led by teacher Jason Ferreira came to...
Hike It, Bike It, Sight-See It at UC Davis Arboretum--and Now, a Photo Contest!
You hike it, bike it, and sight-see it. You exercise the dog (and yourself), meet up with...
A honey bee takes a liking to a red Japanese apricot, Prunus mume "Matsubara red," n the Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. This blooms around January-February. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee nectaring on an almond blossom at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is Nature's Gallery, the work of the UC Davis Art and Science Fusion Program, headed by artist-entomologist Diane Ullman of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and artist and UC Davis alumni Donna Billick. This work is located near the Storer Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's Going On with the Monarchs?
What's going on with the monarchs? Our little pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif., usually...
A male monarch on Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) on Aug. 30 in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch butterfly nectaring on Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) in Vacaville, Calif. on Aug. 30. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch perches on the top of a Mexican sunflower in an image taken Aug. 30 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Incredible Aphid-Eating Machines
Just call them the "incredible aphid-eating machines." That would be the lady beetles, commonly...
Lady beetle larva dining on aphids on milkweed, UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A lady beetle, aka ladybug, tracks down more prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Two-Headed Butterfly?
There's an old joke circulating among entomologists about excited novices contacting them about...
Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) on their host plant, Passiflora, doing what nature intended. At the far right is a Gulf Frit caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Photo Two: The Gulf Fritillaries begin to spread their wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Photo Three: The reddish-orange wings of the Gulf Fritillaries are stunning. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Photo Four: The coloring and contrast of the silver-spangled and reddish-orange wings make it one of the showiest butterflies in California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Photo Five: These butterflies engaged for about 10 minutes, while the photographer was there. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Photo Six: After the photographer captured this image, the butterflies separated and flew their separate ways. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)