Backyard Orchard News
Prey for Me
Whenever folks post photos of praying mantids, their readers expect to see prey. You know, the...
A praying mantis perches on a blanketflower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Well, hello there! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis startles a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A close-up view of an antenna of a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Untold Story About Parasites, Flowers and Bees
Who knew? UC Riverside entomologist Peter Graystock and colleagues Dave Goulson and William...
A honey bee foraging on a pansy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, and a honey bee, Apis mellifera, share a purple coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heads toward a pansy blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Blue as Blue Can Be
They look like shiny blue and black needles. Make that "flying" shiny blue and black needles. We...
A male tule bluet on a fading Mexican sunflower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Tiff Over a Tithonia
Honey bees sometimes get into little battles with one another. Here's a case of a tiff over a...
A tiff over a Tithonia. One holds her ground while another wants her share. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Let the battle begin! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Share and share alike! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
And the winner is... (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Cabbage White Butterfly Not So Bad?
It's the butterfly we're supposed to hate. That would be the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris...
A cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, nectaring on catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The larvae of the cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, are considered pests of cole crops, but we should be thanking them for giving us the pungent taste of wasabi and mustard, scientists say. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)