Posts Tagged: Tithonia rotundifola

Jackie-in-the-Box

In your childhood, somebody probably gave you a jack-in-the-box toy, a music box that you crank up, and then the lid springs opens and out pops a wildly dressed clown, startling you and everyone around you. A praying mantis sighting is something...

A female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, pops up between the petals of a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. Surprise! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, pops up between the petals of a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. Surprise! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Battle Between a Butterfly and a Bee

So, here you are, a newly eclosed Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, eager to sip some nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville garden. It's a warm, windless day, and you're anxious to score, score,...

A Western tiger swallowtail, aware that a territorial bee is about to attack, raises its tails to ward off the intruder. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Western tiger swallowtail, aware that a territorial bee is about to attack, raises its tails to ward off the intruder. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail begins to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail begins to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail leaps off as the bee draws closer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail leaps off as the bee draws closer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail escapes a hit by the longhorned bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail escapes a hit by the longhorned bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Tiger and a Tithonia

When a tiger meets a Tithonia, or a Tithonia meets a tiger, Nature bursts forth in all its glory. Such was the case when we spotted a Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, foraging for nectar on a Mexican sunflower,...

A Western tiger swallowtail lands on a Mexican sunflower and begins to nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Western tiger swallowtail lands on a Mexican sunflower and begins to nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail decides that "leaving" is good. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Western tiger swallowtail decides that "leaving" is good. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The "tiger" begins to make a quick exit. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The "tiger" begins to make a quick exit. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tail up, and off it goes, the Western tiger swallowtail caught in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tail up, and off it goes, the Western tiger swallowtail caught in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gulf Frit and Tithonia: Showstoppers

The Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, and the Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, seem made for one another. Both are a showy orange. Both are show-stoppers. And both attract a photographer's eye. Especially when a Gulf Frit flutters...

A Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, fluttering over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, fluttering over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Bee and the Mantis

So here's this praying mantis, a female Mantis religiosa, tucked beneath a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville garden. She's as still as a stone, and you know how still stones are. Along comes a honey bee,...

A honey bee forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, as a female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, perches below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee forages on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, as a female praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, perches below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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