Backyard Orchard News
Valley Carpenter Bees: Drama in the Garden
Some folks call them "bumble bees," but they're not. In size, the female Valley carpenter bee...
Don't bug me, I'm trying to wake up. This female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, peers over a blue spike salvia (Salvia uliginosa) blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The female Valley carpenter bee sips nectar from a blue spike salvia, Salvia uliginosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The metallic wings of the female Valley carpenter bee gleam in the sun as she sips nectar from gold coin, Asteriscus maritimus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is the male Valley carpenter, Xylocopa varipuncta, bee on germander. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Predator and the Prey: Just Wing It!
Judge: "Will the defendant please rise?" The defendant, a praying mantis--a male Stragmomantis...
A male Stagmomomantis limbata, as identified by mantis expert Lohit Garikipati, a UC Davis student who rears mantids, stretches in the passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male Stagmomomantis limbata lies in wait. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An intact Gulf Fritillary in the passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A not-so-intact Gulf Fritillary in the passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ever Seen a Mantidfly?
Ever seen a mantidfly, also called a mantisfly? Bohart Museum of Entomology associate John De...
Mantidflies use their front legs to catch small insect prey. This one was collected by John De Benedictis at the UC Davis Stebbens Cold Canyon Reserve. (Snapshot by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
In coloring, the mantidfly abdomen resembles a paper wasp. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Part of the collection of mantidflies, Climaciella brunnea, at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bohart Museum of Entomology associate Wade Spencer holds a drawer of mantidfly specimens. The museum houses some eight million specimens, collected globally. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A B-Day Celebration for Robbin Thorp at the Bohart Museum of Entomology
It was "b-day" today at The Bohart Museum of Entomology in honor of longtime Bohart associate...
Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology, serves dessert at Robbin Thorp's birthday celebration while the distinguished emeritus professor reads the birthday wishes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis doctoral student Charlotte Herbert Alberts created the longhorned bees on Robbin Thorp's card--putting bees in the "double b's of his name. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Robbin Thorp is the co-author of two books that line the gift shop of the Bohart Museum of Entomology: Bumble Bees of California: An Identification Guide (2014, Princeton University Press) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (2014, Heyday Books). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch Madness: Thanks, Monarch Mama!
Thar's gold in them thar hills? Probably not. But thar's definitely gold in that there pollinator...
A hungry monarch caterpillar chewing on a milkweed stem this morning in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch caterpillar swirls to get the best angle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The long and short of it--a monarch caterpillar crawls on a stem to its next dining spot. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Even seed pods are fair game for hungry monarch caterpillars. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a monarch caterpillar, taken with a Canon MPE-65mm lens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)