Backyard Orchard News
Green-Eyed Bee
So you're poking around in your garden and you see a bee on a flowering artichoke that you've never...
Long-horned sunflower bee tucked in a flowering artichoke. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male long-horned sunflower bee (Svastra obliqua expurgata) before he buzzed off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An Old Flame (Skimmer)
Gotta love those flame skimmers. It's a joy to watch these firecracker-red dragonflies (Libellula...
Flame skimmer perched on a tomato-plant stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of flame skimmer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Purple Paradise
If you want to attract insects to your garden, plant an artichoke and let it flower. You'll get...
Male cuckoo leafcutting bee (genus Coelioxys) emerges from the purple strands of an artichoke blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male cuckoo leafcutting bee (genus Coelioxys) walking on an artichoke blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Not Your Usual Pollinator
Since this is National Pollinator Week, you're probably out celebrating the bees--maybe doing hand...
Melyrid beetle (Endeodes insularis) on a poppy petal. (Photo y Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of melyrid beetle covered with pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wild Blue Yonder
Sometimes you see honey bees "making a beeline." Such was the case when this honey bee (below)...
Honey bee heading for blue lupine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee touches down on "the landing strip" of a blue lupine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee, wings a soft blur, makes a beeline for a lupine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)