Backyard Orchard News
Meet a Carpenter Bee
Meet a carpenter bee. This one (below) is a male carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, as...
Male mountain or foothill carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, on salvia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of male carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Tiger by the Tail? Not This Time!
Don't look now, but a garden spider almost grabbed a tiger by the tail. The tiger? That would be...
Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, nectars on a zinnia, unaware of the danger lurking below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of garden spider tucked beneath the petals. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Multi-location Replicated Mandarin Trials
A block of promising mandarin varieties of commercial importance were planted at Lindcove this...
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It Was Not to Bee
The drama unfolds slowly. The crafty praying mantis that's perched atop a zinnia raises its...
Unsuspecting honey bee lands on a zinnia occupied by a praying mantis lying in wait. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee crawls toward the center of the zinnia, unaware of the predator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee sinks down into the zinnia and is about to forage, as the mantid lies perfectly still. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Danger! The praying mantis strikes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A near miss! The honey bee escapes and buzzes off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Girl and the Bubble
Ah, the little intricacies of life... We were walking along a stretch of the coastal town of...
Syrphid fly (female Sphaerophoria), as identified by senior insect biosystematist Martin Hauser of the CDFA. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Gavrey)
Close-up of "The Girl and the Bubble." See text above for what the bubble is. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)