Backyard Orchard News
Make Mine the Monarch
The National Geographic just ran a piece titled "Without Bugs, We Might All Be Dead." "There are...
A longhorn bee, probably a Melissodes agilis, targets a monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, nectaring on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Targeted by male territorial bees, a monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Tiger by the Tail
One of Buck Owens' signature songs that never failed to please his fan base was "I Got a Tiger by...
A longhorn bee, probably Melissodes agilis, has this "tiger" (Western tiger swallowtail) by the tail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Territorial male longhorn bees are targeting a Western tiger swallowtail as it's trying to sip some nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This Western tiger swallowtail, targeted by male longhorn bees, takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Why Turning 40 Is a Bee-Boggling Event: Western Apicultural Society's Big Conference
Turning 40 can be mind-boggling. But it will be bee-boggling--all bee-boggling--when the Western...
Pointing out the queen bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Professor emeritus Norm Gary, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, kneels by his bee wrangling cluster. He spearheaded the founding of the Western Apicultural Society. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Let Us Prey!
Everybody eats in the pollinator garden. Everybody. The pollinators in our garden in Vacaville,...
A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata (as identified by Andrew Pfeifer) clings to a showy milkweed leaf as she dines on a longhorn bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis is a cunning predator. The score: praying mantis: 1. Longhorn bee: 0. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Nature's way; praying mantis devours her meal. The longhorn bee, probably a Melissodes agilis, erred in flying too close to the predator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
After her meal, the praying mantis climbs toward the top of the milkweed to look for more "meal movement." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Beetle Boys Meet at the Bohart
The Beatle Boys made their mark in Liverpool, but across the pond, specifically at the Bohart...
The Beetle Boys, both recipinets of Coleoperists Society Youth Inventive Awards: Noah Crockette (left) of Sacramento, and Quincy Hansen of Arvada, Colo. (Photo by Tabatha Yang)