Backyard Orchard News
How to Plan a Menu for a Crab Spider
Dear Crab Spider, Please don't eat the pollinators. You may help yourself to a mosquito, a crane...
A crab spider dines on a sweat bee, a female Halictus tripartitus (as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Missed! A male long-horned bee, probably Melissodes agilis, eludes the crab spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A crab spider on top of the world, the cone of a petal-less blanket flower (Gaillardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hey, I can wait all day. And I will. I'm a Wait Watcher. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Happy Independence Day!
Today we celebrate the Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day. History books tell us that...
A newly eclosed female monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, touches down on an American flag. Another star. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's Better than Sighting a Bumble Bee?
What's better than sighting a yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii? Well, a newly emerged...
A newly emerged yellow-faced bumble bee queen, Bombus vosnesenskii, eyes the photographer as it forages on blanket flower (Gaillardia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Yellow-faced bumble bee shows its distinguishing marks. This is a queen Bombus vosnesenskii, about 21mm long. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Up and away! A distinguishing feature of Bombus vosnesenskii is the yellow stripe, T4 segment of its thorax. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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)