Posts Tagged: African blue basil
Not a Good Day for a Bee

A gravid praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, crawls out of a patch of African blue...
A gravid Stagmomantis limbata eyes a honey bee nectaring on African blue basil. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis grips the honey bee with her spiked forelegs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
As the praying mantis eats the honey bee, another honey bee comes over to investigate. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Soon another honey bee appears on the scene. The two bees quickly left. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Honey Bee and the Praying Mantis

So I'm a praying mantis and being a top-notch real estate developer, I've located the best place in...
A honey bee nectaring on African blue basil blossoms is unaware that on the other side, camouflaged and hidden in the shadows, is a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee, intent on gathering nectar, doesn't notice a praying mantis in her flight zone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Oops, what's that blocking my path?" the bee says. "Look at those spiked forelegs. This might not end well." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This honey bee survives to visit the African blue basil patch another day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Oh, well, I forgot to pray before breakfast." The praying mantis assumes its position. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Beauty of the Bee

Have you ever pulled up a chair in your garden and watched honey bees foraging? They are so intent...
A honey bee nectaring on African blue basil in Vacaville, Calif. At right is Salvia microphylla "Hot Lips." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee, its tongue or proboscis still extended, departs from the African blue basil. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee pulls its proboscis back in and is leaving the African blue basil. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Frozen in time--a honey bee takes flight and heads for home. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Butterfly and the Bee

It's a strikingly beautiful insect. But in its larval stage, the alfalfa butterfly, Colias...
An alfalfa butterfly, Colias eurytheme, sips nectar from an African blue basil blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee shadows an alfalfa butterfly, Colias eurytheme, on African blue basil. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two can get along: the alfalfa butterfly and the honey bee. In its larval stage, this butterfly is a pest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
How to Train Your Praying Mantis

We've trained puppies to "come," "sit" and "heel." We've trained an African grey parrot to say...
Praying mantis stretches in the African blue basil. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A little aerobics under the cosmos, as a bee does a flyover. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's not "Say cheese!" It's "Say bee!" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)