Backyard Orchard News
Can You See the Leaf?
Once you've seen a leaffooted bug (genus Leptoglossus), you'll never forget it. If you look...
A leaffooted bug on a tomato. This is Leptoglossus phyllopus, as identified by senior museum scientist Steve Heydon of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two's company in this photo of two leaffooted bugs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Red nymph of leaffooted bug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Nymph of leaffooted bug checks out it surroundings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Like a Needle in a Haystack
Finding a tan-colored damselfly in a patch of fading English lavender is like finding a needle in...
Damselfly on a leaf in the late afternoon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A cluster of red mites on a damselfly in the early morning. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Faster Than a Speeding Bullet
Butterflies flutter. Bees don't. Indeed, some bees seem to possess Superman's extraordinary...
A Gulf Fritillary sips nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), unaware of what will soon occur. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A speeding bullet, a male longhorned digger bee, targets the unsuspecting Gulf Fritillary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Startled by the digger bee, the Gulf Fritillary shoots straight up. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's back to normal. The Gulf Fritillary finds another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sleeping with the Enemy
Just call it sleeping with the enemy. But how can you sleep when you sense a predator in your...
A praying mantis climbs down a lavender stem to get a closer look at the sleeping boy bees, longhorned digger bees, Melissodes agilis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis peers at what could be prey but they're sleeping. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis "assumes the position" on another lavender stem as it waits for live prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Whew! That was close. A sleepy male longhorned digger bee gets ready to fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Soaking Up Sunshine
In the entomological world, we call that a "two-fer." Two insects in the same photo. Sunday...
A fiery skipper and a damselfly sharing the same spot: an artichoke leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of fiery skipper, Hylephila phyleus, belonging to the family Hesperiidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)