Posts Tagged: milkweed
Tropical Milkweed Doesn't Deserve the Bad Rap
Fact: Milkweed is the host plant of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. Fact: Without...
A monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch caterpillar foraging on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a monarch caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch laying an egg on a tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Flight of the Lady Beetle
Have you ever seen a lady beetle, aka ladybird beetle, aka ladybug, take...
A lady beetle prepares for take-off in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The lady beetle unfolds its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
And the lady beetle takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ever See a Leafcutter Bee Sunning Itself on a Milkweed Leaf?
Well, that's something you don't see every day: a leafcutter bee sunning itself on a milkweed...
A leafcutter bee, Megachile spp., rests on a leaf of milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis, in a Vacaville, Calif. garden. Both are natives. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The leaf is long and the leafcutter bee is short. Leafcutter bees are smaller than honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of the male leafcutter bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Walda: a Master of Disguise, Stealth and Ambush
Where's Waldo? If you've ever looked at a “Where's Waldo” pictorial book and...
A praying mantis is camouflaged amid the green stems, seed pods and leaves of a native milkweed as she awaits prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Well, no prey in sight, so I guess I'll just wait. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
While I wait, I may as well groom myself. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
I see you! You don't look like prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Overwintering Milkweed Bugs on the Prowl
Have you seen any overwintering milkweed bugs lately? About a dozen milkweed...
Two's company, three's a crowd? Milkweed bugs on a cactus on Jan. 2, 2022 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A colorful milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, sunning itself on a succulent on Jan. 2, 2022 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Warmth of the January sun and these milkweed bugs are getting all of it. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)