Backyard Orchard News
The Amazing Bee-Parasite Research of Leslie Saul-Gershenz
Evolutionary ecologist Leslie Saul-Gershenz goes places where many have been but few have ever...
Leslie Saul-Gershenz in the Channel Island National Park conducting a native bee survey.
Leslie Saul-Gershenz doing field work on bee nesting beds of the solitary bee, Nomia melanderi, in Walla Walla, Wash. (2010-2015).
A digger bee, Habropoda pallida, with blister beetle larvae. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)
Why Friday the 13th Is Not an Unlucky Day
Friday the 13th is not an unlucky day--not when migratory monarchs make a pit stop at your home on...
A male monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed on Friday the 13th in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch spreads its wings on a tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Thank a Farmer, Thank a Beekeeper
You may have missed it, but today (Thursday, Oct. 12) is National Farmers' Day. The day originated...
Two honey bees want the same pomegranate blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee pollinating an apple blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A new beekeeper examines a frame during a UC Davis honey bee course at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño and her staff teach classes for the public. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
California Wild Fires Raging...but Life Cycles Go On...
As those horrendous wild fires continue to rage throughout California, as Cal Fire helicopters roar...
A Gulf Fritillary egg on the tendrils of the passionflower vine (Passiflora). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary caterpillar continues to munch the Passiflora leaves. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary clings to its pupal case. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
In the eerie light of the smoke-choked sky and reddish sun, a newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Reason Why Bumble Bee Population Is Declining
The news is disturbing but not unexpected. Scientists are linking global climate change to one...
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, nectaring on Salvia 'Indigo Spires' in Kate Frey's pollinator garden at the Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hungry bumble bee, a queen Bombus vosnesenskii, can't get enough of the nectar from the salvia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee heads for the same plant, Salvia 'Indigo Spires,' in Kate Frey's pollinator gardener at the Sonoma Cornerstone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Me, too! Another another bee wants a share of the food--the sweet nectar from Salvia 'Indigo Spires.' (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)