The aggressive (cannabilistic?) caterpillar that attacked his or her sibling, is now a beautiful chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An aggressive 'cat did.

We were delighted to find 10 monarch caterpillars (the first of the year!) on our narrowleaf milkweed a couple of weeks ago in our Vacaville pollinator garden--but not so delighted to see what happened to one of them.

We tucked the 10 'cats in two Bohart Museum of Entomology butterfly habitats: six in the larger-sized one, and four in the medium-sized one. We filled each with lots of milkweed so they'd have plenty to eat and plenty of room to grow.

They ate. They ate. And they ate some more. They began to pupate and form those gorgeous jade green chrysalids rimmed with gold.

Just as they always do.

Or did.

All was well and good except for what occurred next in the medium-sized habitat. 

One of the 'cats spun its silklike mat, attaching itself to the top of the netted  habitat. It was j'ing (or hanging upside down in a J-shape) and beginning to spin rapidly to form a chrysalis. Two of its siblings were already chrysalids.

Now, j'ing is a vulnerable stage in the wild. Parasitoids, such as tachinid flies and Trichogramma wasps, can and do lay their eggs in them. And they're also, in this helpless state, fair game for such predators as birds.

But this was a "safe environment," right? Wrong.

Just as the j'ing caterpillar was spinning, an aggressive (cannibalistic?) caterpillar left its milkweed and climbed up the net and attacked it, killing it. A stream of fluid cascaded down the side of the habitat.  Then the combative caterpillar climbed back down and continued eating milkweed. Several days later, it pupated and formed a chrysalis. (See image above.)

Meanwhile, its sibling remains quite dead, never completing the metamorphosis we expected it to do.

Curiosity didn't kill the 'cat.

An aggressive 'cat did.

A female leafcutter bee, Megachile fidelis. on sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale. (Copyrghted photo by Allan Jones, used with permission)

A male leafcutter bee, Megachile fidelis. on sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale. (Copyrghted photo by Allan Jones, used with permission)

He pulls up a chair, mounts his Canon on his tripod, and adjusts the lens settings--and the trademark hat that shades his face.

His passion: insects. They cannot escape his quick eye and steady hands. Not the honey bee. Not the leafcutter bee. Not the bumble bee. And not the territorial male European wool carder bees that he has nicknamed “bonker bees” (for their behavior of dislodging other bees from the nectar-rich blossoms in order to save the food for their own species, perchance to mate with them.)

Allan Jones delights in not only capturing images of insects, but learning more about them, and sharing his finds with others.

And on Saturday, Sept. 22, he will display many of his images at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven open house, set from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event, free and family friendly (and the last open house of the year), will include a catch-and-release bee activity, and a sale of bee plants and solitary bee condos (drilled holes in blocks of wood for bee nests, accommodating leafcutter bees and blue orchard bees). Plus, visitors will receive recommendations on what to plant for the fall to attract pollinators.

Jones will exhibit images of male and female bees of the same species, including a male and female leafcutter bee, Megachile fidelis, on sneezeweed, Helenium autumnale.

Among his many other images: a leafcutting bee “flying a bit of Clarkia petal back as nest material” and a “honey bee vs. wasp image designed to help define and differentiate bees and wasps.”

An alumnus of UC Davis, Allan became an Aggie in 1961, receiving degrees in English and German in 1966, and his master's in English in 1972. He joined the doctoral program in 1973 "but I quit in 1974, making my summer job of inspecting tomatoes my career for 43 seasons (with California Department of Food and Agriculture  for half of his career, and then working with CDFA on an independent advisory board). I did some workmanlike macro photography of tomato defects and wider shots of the inspection process for training. “

He spent the ‘70s in Dixon, and the ‘80s and ‘90s in Sacramento “before moving back to Davis after 2000.” 

 “Working tomatoes six to nine months a year allowed me to pursue art and later landscape photography along the American River,” Jones related. “During the winter of 1982. I tried to capture glimpses of the American River in every light as the historic wild braided river it once was. The scenes are painterly, echoing the Hudson River School. When I moved from Sacramento back to Davis I turned to the UC Davis Arboretum, picking up macro shots to enhance a PowerPoint program I made for the Sacramento State Renaissance Society."

Jones is keenly drawn to the behavior of insects. “My intent with insects and bees is the capture their behaviors in context, that is, together with the flowers they pollinate,” Jones says. “I often use layers in PhotoShop to get the flower as well as the insect in focus. For me the co-evolution of bees and flowers requires them both to share the stage. I aim for a tiny diorama from an illustrator's perspective.”

His camera gear? “I am between Canon platforms. I have an older Canon 6D with a Sigma 180 macro and am moving to a Canon, Mark 2 EOS 1DX, with a new 100-400 telephoto lens using a 20 mm extension tube for macro--my new favorite. First I shoot the bee at least once then take multiple shots of the flower(s) for effective layering.” 

Jones is a volunteer photographer for both the haven and the UC Davis Arboretum. He works closely with native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, who identifies and/or confirms his identifications. Thorp, who maintains an office in the nearby Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, co-authored 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).

The haven, installed in the fall of 2009 and located at the end of Bee Biology Road, is open from dawn to dusk. It is directed by Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. Christine Casey, the haven's academic program manager, says many difficult-to-find pollinator plants will be on sale.   (See the plant list.)

Honey bee on Gaillardia. This plant belongs to the sunflower family, Asteraceae.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee garden operated by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will host an open house, the last one of 2018, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22.

The garden, planted in the fall of 2009, is located on Bee Biology Road, next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, west of the central campus. Director of the haven is Extension apiculturist Elina L. Niño.

"In addition to our popular catch-and-release bee activity, we'll be holding a plant and solitary bee house sale," said academic program manager Christine Casey.  (See the plant list.)

Photographer Allan Jones of Davis will showcase some of his insect images. He frequently photographs bees in the haven and in the UC Davis Arboretum.

Visitors can also see recommendations about what to plant for bees this fall, including information from the ongoing research trials.

The garden was founded and "came to life" during the term of interim department chair, Professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, who coordinated the entire project.  A Sausalito team--landscape architects Donald Sibbett and Ann F. Baker, interpretative planner Jessica Brainard and exhibit designer Chika Kurotaki--designed the garden as the winners of the international competition.

A six-foot long mosaic and ceramic sculpture of a worker bee, the work of self-described "rock artist" Donna Billick, anchors the garden.  The UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, founded and directed by the duo of entomologist/artist Diane Ullman, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, and Billick, coordinated the art in the garden through their classes. 

The bee haven is open to the public--no admission--from dawn to dusk. For more information, check out the website at https://beegarden.ucdavis.edu.

(Editor's Note: Those attending might want to make a day of it. The Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus, is hosting an open house from 1 to 4 p.m. The theme is "Crafty Insects," featuring sneaky or crafty insects and visitors' crafts. Visitors will be invited to paint rocks, to be hidden on campus or elsewhere. Bohart associates Jeff Smith, curator of the butterfly and moth exhibit and naturalist-photographer Greg Kareofelas will be on hand to shows the collection. The musuem, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis,  houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens.  In addition to the petting zoo, the museum features a year-around gift shop, which is stocked with T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.)

Talk about "crafty"--as in cunning or sneaky--insects.

Ever seen a praying mantis ambushing a cabbage white butterfly?

Or an assassin bug targeting a spotted cucumber beetle?

Or European paper wasps attacking a Gulf Fritillary butterfly?

And, how about the other kind of "crafty" insects--like honey bees and European paper wasps creating those  intricate nests?

"Crafty Insects" will set the theme for the Bohart Museum of Entomology's open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 22 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on the UC Davis campus. The event is free and family friendly.

“We are hoping to have two parallel exhibits--one where we show crafty insects and then one where we are asking people to bring insect-themed crafts from their home--a plate with a cicada on it, or mug shaped like a wasp or we have a bee-shaped stapler for example,” said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. “We'll have a place for them to display their crafts.”

“Crafty insects can be interpreted in two ways,” Yang commented. "‘Crafty' can be makers such as caddis fly larvae, case bearer moths, and potter wasps. The other crafty interpretation is sneaky, so our live orchid mantid,  the dead leaf butterfly like Kallima inachus will be on display.” Activities are to include “spot the flower fly versus bee activity” and “spot the assassin fly versus bumble bee activity.” 

For the family crafts, visitors will be painting rocks that can be hidden on campus or elsewhere. The Bohart Museum officials were inspired by Yolo Rocks and Solano Rocks, but a similar organization on campus, UC Davis Rocks, launched a similar activity last spring. It is the brainchild of Kim Pearson and Martha Garrison, who work in the arts administrative group in the College of Letters and Science. 

Saturday, Sept. 22 is also move-in weekend for UC Davis students, so the Bohart Museum expects a lot of new people exploring the campus.

Bohart associates Jeff Smith, curator of the butterfly and moth exhibit and naturalist-photographer Greg Kareofelas will be on hand to shows the collection.

The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis,  houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity.  In addition to the petting zoo, the museum features a year-around gift shop, which is stocked with T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.

For more information, access the Bohart Museum website at http://bohart.ucdavis.edu or call (530) 752-0493 or email bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.