Posts Tagged: Tithonia rotundifolia

Eye on the Tiger

So here, you are, a Western Tiger Swallowtail sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower. You are a Papilo rutulus. And your menu choice? A delicate orange beauty from the sunflower family:  a Tithonia rotundifolia. Ah, the...

A Western tiger swallowtail, Papilo rutulus, lands on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Western tiger swallowtail, Papilo rutulus, lands on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A dark shadow heads toward the Western Tiger Swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A dark shadow heads toward the Western Tiger Swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male territorial long-horned bee, buzzes the Western Tiger Swallowtail, like a jet fighter plane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male territorial long-horned bee, buzzes the Western Tiger Swallowtail, like a jet fighter plane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Right wing? Left wing? Up the middle. The male territorial longhorned bee tries to dislodge the Western Tiger Swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Right wing? Left wing? Up the middle. The male territorial longhorned bee tries to dislodge the Western Tiger Swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm coming for you! The male territorial bee roars up over the Mexican sunflower as the Western Tiger Swallowtail scrambles for safety. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I'm coming for you! The male territorial bee roars up over the Mexican sunflower as the Western Tiger Swallowtail scrambles for safety. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Portraits of The Predator and the Prey

Heads will not roll.  The Hunger Games will not begin.  Preying does not always work.  It's Aug. 2, 2020 and a praying mantis decides to occupy a specially stunning Mexican sunflower. Specifically, it's a female Stagmomantis limbata...

Occupied! A praying mantis, a female Stagmomantis limbata occupies a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Occupied! A praying mantis, a female Stagmomantis limbata occupies a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Double Occupancy: The praying mantis and honey bee share the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Double Occupancy: The praying mantis and honey bee share the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Stare: The praying mantis, a carnivore, stares at the honey bee, a vegetarian. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Stare: The praying mantis, a carnivore, stares at the honey bee, a vegetarian. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, Yours? The honey bee prepares to leave the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, Yours? The honey bee prepares to leave the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lone Occupancy! The praying mantis again owns the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lone Occupancy! The praying mantis again owns the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Behold: A Mexican Cactus Fly on a Mexican Sunflower

It's not often you see a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. At first glance, you may think the insect is a carpenter bee or bumble bee. Then you see it...

"Aah, nectar!" A Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Aah, nectar!" A Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Here's looking at you!" A Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, sips nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Here's looking at you!" A Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, sips nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"My territory!" says a dive-bombing male longhorned bee, a Melissodes agilis, as it targets the Mexican cactus fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"My territory!" says a dive-bombing male longhorned bee, a Melissodes agilis, as it targets the Mexican cactus fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Coming at ya!" A Mexican cactus fly sails over a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

"Coming at ya!" A Mexican cactus fly sails over a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The wings of the Mexican cactus flower glisten in the morning sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The wings of the Mexican cactus flower glisten in the morning sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

So Bee It...

The honey bees love it. So do the long-horned bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, European paper wasps, syrphid flies, butterflies, blister beetles, spotted cucumber beetles, crab spiders, praying mantids, and assorted other insects. The Mexican...

A honey bee heads toward a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee heads toward a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ah, this Mexican sunflower is all mine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ah, this Mexican sunflower is all mine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It pays to keep a lookout while you're foraging on the ever-popular Mexican sunflower, genus Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It pays to keep a lookout while you're foraging on the ever-popular Mexican sunflower, genus Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Frit and the Fly: Who Wins?

The Frit and the fly...or the butterfly and the fly... That would be the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) and the syrphid fly (family Syrphidae), aka flower fly or hover fly. They meet on a beautiful autumn day on an equally beautiful...

The syrphid fly tries to seek some nectar, but the Gulf Fritillary proclaims "This Mexican sunflower is occupied." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The syrphid fly tries to seek some nectar, but the Gulf Fritillary proclaims "This Mexican sunflower is occupied." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The butterfly begins to spread its wings as the syrphid edges closer to the nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The butterfly begins to spread its wings as the syrphid edges closer to the nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The butterfly spreads and flattens its wings. The syrphid does not move. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The butterfly spreads and flattens its wings. The syrphid does not move. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Maybe if come around from a different direction!" the fly seems to say. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Maybe if come around from a different direction!" the fly seems to say. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Ah, all mine!" proclaims the fly. "I scared off the butterfly." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

"Ah, all mine!" proclaims the fly. "I scared off the butterfly." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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