Backyard Orchard News
The Eighth Wonder of the World
It's time to add an “eighth wonder” to the Seven Wonders of the (Ancient) World: a...
A feral honey bee colony, with exposed comb, on a Eucalyptus tree in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Another view of the feral honey bee colony. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of bees in the feral colony. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The feral honey bee colony is thriving. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Miracles Do Happen
For the last several months, we've seen monarchs laying eggs on our narrow-leafed milkweed. A...
A fifth instar caterpillar partially hidden in the narrow-leafed milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hidden, but there it is! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The chrysalis turned from jade green to transucent. You can see the butterfly inside, almost ready to eclose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The newly emerged male monarch dries its wings. At left is the second chrysalis, which turned out to be a female. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The first male monarch of the season, ready to be released. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's Mine; Not Yours!
So here's this hungry male monarch butterfly sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia...
A male longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis (as identified by Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology) targets a male monarch on a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
I'm coming at you! The male Melissodes agilis returns to claim his territory. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, does a barrel roll and attempts again to push the monarch off the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Pitch It, Plant It, Grow It
What a great idea! The Horticulture Innovation Lab Demonstration Center on the UC Davis campus is...
Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, pollinating a squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Butterfly Ballet at a Special Place
Ruth Charlotte Risdon Storer (1888-1986) would have been proud. The garden that bears her name in...
The Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus)sips nectar from a butterfly bush in the Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Showing her true colors: the Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Western tiger swallowtail in flight over a butterfly bush in the Storer Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)