Backyard Orchard News
A PiƱata That Only Entomologists Could Love
Have you ever hit a piñata? Hit it and smashed it to smithereens? It was probably a...
The Halloween party invitation from the Bohart Museum of Entomology featured an Acroceridae fly and larva. (Images the work of Nicole Tam, UC Davis alumnus)
UC Davis PhD student Charlotte Herbert as"Maggie the Maggot," and her fiance, George Alberts, as "Farmer Maggot," or his interpreation of Farmer Maggot from "The Lord of Rings." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis PhD students Charlotte Herbert (left) and Jessica Gillung admire the fly pinata, depicting the genus Acrocera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis PhD student Charlotte Herbert takes a swing at the fly pinata that she and her fiance, George Alberts, created for the Bohart Museum of Entomology Halloween party. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis PhD student Jessica Gillung dressed as a raccoon at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's Halloween party. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Not a Good Time to Be a Monarch Caterpillar
Migrating monarchs are fluttering daily into our yard in Vacaville, Calif., one by one, two by two,...
A monarch caterpillar munches on tropical milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. on Friday, Oct. 27. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Pacific Northwest monarchs began migrating to their overwintering sites along coastal California in last August and early September. This one touched down on milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. on Sept. 12. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This was the scene Nov. 14, 2016 at the Natural Bridges State Park's Monarch Grove Butterfly Natural Preserve, Santa Cruz. They were overwintering 80 feet high in a eucalpytus tree. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
If You're Addicted to Insect Images...
If you're addicted to insects or insect photography, you'll want to see the international...
"Faster than a Speeding Bullet," shows a long-horned bee in flight, speeding over a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia). This one received an honorable mention in the international contest, Insect Salon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Under Attack!" shows a long-horned bee targeting a Red Admiral butterfly (Vanessa atalanta), also on Tithonia. This image gained acceptance into the international contest, Insect Salon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Happy National Squash Bee Day!
In case you missed it, today was National Pumpkin Day. But it ought to be National Squash Bee Day,...
Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, inside a squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Jackson Audley: A Case Study with the Walnut Twig Beetle
So tiny and so destructive. It's about the size of a grain of rice but it's a killer. That's the...
The walnut twig beetle is about the size of a grain of rice. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)