Backyard Orchard News

Portrait of a Yellowjacket

Who takes images of yellowjackets?  What, nobody? I don't usually...

A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, peers at the photographer. It is on a Myoporum at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, peers at the photographer. It is on a Myoporum at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, shows its stripes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, shows its stripes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dorsal view of a western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dorsal view of a western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Okay, I'm hungry. Enough posing!" A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, foraging on a Myoporum at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Okay, I'm hungry. Enough posing!" A western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica, foraging on a Myoporum at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Tip of the Bee Veil to the California Master Beekeeper Program

If it takes a village to raise a child, it takes a colony of honey bees to show us how to divide...

UC Davis Chancellor Gary May congratulates the California Master Beekeeper Program. With him are co-program managers Wendy Mather and Kian Nikzad. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis Chancellor Gary May congratulates the California Master Beekeeper Program. With him are co-program managers Wendy Mather and Kian Nikzad. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Elina Lastro Niño at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Elina Lastro Niño at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarchs on the Move

For the past 13 days, monarchs have fluttered in and out of our Vacaville garden, nectaring on the...

A monarch butterfly nectars on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville pollinator garden on Sept. 3, 2023. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch butterfly nectars on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville pollinator garden on Sept. 3, 2023. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Household Vampires Want Your Blood

What do you think of when someone mentions "household vampires?" Fleas? Ticks? Bed bugs?...

Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito. (Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito. (Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Oops! Wrong Species, Wrong Gender

So here's this male monarch nectaring on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. The...

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, touches down next to a male monarch, Danaus plexippus, on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, touches down next to a male monarch, Danaus plexippus, on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male monarch lets the painted lady know that his advances are unwelcome. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male monarch lets the painted lady know that his advances are unwelcome. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Okay, I'm leaving" The painted lady takes off as the monarch also prepares to leave. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Okay, I'm leaving" The painted lady takes off as the monarch also prepares to leave. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"I'm leaving, too!" The male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"I'm leaving, too!" The male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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