Backyard Orchard News
Gulf Fritillaries: Passion Makes Perfect
No wall can separate a Gulf Fritillary from its host plant, the passionflower vine...
Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) soars over a fence to lay its eggs on its host plant, the passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary checks out the host plant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary maneuvers its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Gulf Fritillary spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sideview of a Gulf Fritillary showing its silver-spangled underwings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Word of the Day: Nototribic
The black-tailed bumble bee wasn't flying very well. You wouldn't, either, if you were trying to...
A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus with a thick load of resin on her thorax. She had just visited a nototribic flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dorsal view of the pollen hump on the back of the black-tailed bumble bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatle Garvey)
A Bumble Bee on Mustard in the Golden State
What's better than a yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) on yellow mustard? Not much....
A pollen-laded yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, buzzes toward a mustard blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Coming in for a landing! A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, lands on a mustard blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It doesn't get any better than this. Yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) lands on a mustard blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Living on the Edge
Congratulations to Hoang Danh “Derrick” Nguyen, a graduate student in the Christian...
Hoang Danh "Derrick" Nguyen, who is studying for his master's degree in entomology, is shown here sampling insects from strawerry plants. (Photo by Christian Nansen)
Rain Won't Cancel Open House, Plant Sale at UC Davis Bee Garden
Think spring. Think ceanothus. Think salvia. Think pollinators. Despite the rain forecast, the...
Honey bees love ceanothus, a plant that will be offered at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Saturday, April 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and at the UC Davis Arboretum Plant Nursery sale on April 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male Valley carpenter bee, aka "the teddy bear bee" or Xylocopa varipuncta, takes a liking to penstemon, a popular plant at the UC Davis Arboretum Nursery plant sale. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)