It pays to have a pond. A pond attracts dragonflies and damselflies. Last weekend, though, we spotted a damselfly a good 65 feet away from our pond. It touched down on our passion flower vine (Passiflora). Lights, camera, action...
Quick! What butterfly is depicted on the California State Fair monorail train? Hint: It's the state insect. "What, we have a state insect?" you ask. Yes, and it's the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice).
Just call it a missed opportunity. Catmint (genus Nepeta) draws scores of insects, from honey bees to leafcutter bees to European wool carder bees. It also draws spiders. We usually see a cellar spider (family Pholcidae) trapping prey in its web.
For months, I've been waiting ah, so patiently (well, not always s-o-o-o patiently) for the gulf fritillary butterfly to touch down on our Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. A perfect match, I figured.
Look at the Xylocopa on the Xanthorrhoeaceae. If that sounds like a mouthful, think of the mountain or foothill carpenter bees, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, on bulbine from the genus Bulbine in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae.
