Backyard Orchard News
Those Glorious Pipevine Swallowtails
Today was a glorious day in the Ruth Risdon Storer Garden in the UC Davis Arboretum. Absolutely...
Two pipevine swallowtails on the Korean lilac, Syringa patula, in the Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Pipevine swallowtail soars over the Korean lilac where another pipevine swallowtail is nectaring. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Pipevine swallowtails in action. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The gleaming iridescent blue hind wings of the pipevine swallowtail and the stunning purple blossoms of the Korean lilac. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillaries Are Back!
Okay, where are they? Shouldn't they be emerging soon? They're in Davis and Suisun. Why not...
A Gulf Fritillary lays an egg on a passionflower vine in Vacaville on March 26. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The female Gulf Fritillary touches down on a stucco wall. Gulf Frits lay eggs on the leaves and tendrils of their host plant, Passiflora, but also on nearby fences and walls. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is one of the eggs that the Gulf Fritillary laid on a leaf on March 26. They lay their eggs singly. They are about the size of a pinhead. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wash Their Mouths Out With Soap
We're not the only ones "celebrating" the first week of spring. The oleander aphids are doing a...
Oleander aphids absolutely love tender milkweed plants. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of an army of aphids on milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
When Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries (Cherry Laurels)
It's definitely a bee friendly plant, packed with nectar and pollen. The cherry laurel, Prunus...
A backlit honey bee, its tongue or proboscis extended, heads for cherry laurel blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The anticipation of nectar and pollen is intense. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Touchdown! Pollen and nectar on the cherry laurel. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Very Tiny Bee
At first glance, it appeared to be a gnat circling our head. Then it landed on our passionflower...
A tiny sweat bee, Lasioglossum, subgenus Evylaeus, on a passionflower vine (Passiflora). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a tiny sweat bee, genus Lasioglossum, subgenus Evylaeus, on a passionflower vine (Passiflora). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)