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Posts Tagged: butterfly bush
What's Better Than Seeing a Monarch Butterfly?
Question: What's better than seeing a monarch butterfly? Answer: Seeing two monarch butterflies sharing the same blossom on a butterfly bush! Scenario: Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) from the Pacific Northwest are fluttering through Vacaville, Calif. and...
Two migrating monarchs land on a butterfly bush in Vacaville, Calif. to sip some nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarchs engage in what appears to be a territorial battle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A kaleidoscope of orange and black as the two monarchs seek the same blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wings up! The monarchs take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Monarch Who Arrived Late for Dinner
Never be late for dinner or it might be all gone. Take the case of the Mexican sunflowers, Tithonia rotundifola, that we planted last April for the monarchs. Monarchs seem to favor Tithonia more than any other nectar source in...
A male monarch arrives Oct. 3 to nectar Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a male monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A spent blossom hangs over a male monarch that is sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male monarch samples nectar from a butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Tracking a Tiger During the COVID-19 Crisis
Have are you faring during the COVID-19 crisis? If you have a pollinator garden--or access to you--and a camera, you can step out of The Great Indoors and enjoy The Great Outdoors. A newly eclosed Western Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio...
Western Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, spreads its wings on a butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Western Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, nectars on a butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Western Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, at the very top of a butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Happy Thanksgiving!
It's Thanksgiving Day, and what better day to stop and be thankful for not only family and friends, but for the beauty around us. That would include insects, including the stunning Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). Last summer we enjoyed...
A Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) nectaring on a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This gravid female Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) can't get enough of a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Beauty of a Western Tiger Swallowtail
One of the joys of planting a pollinator garden is watching majestic butterflies flutter in and sip a little nectar. Today a Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) took a liking to a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) in our Vacaville garden. The...
A "very gravid" female Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) nectars on a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The gravid Western tiger swallowtail looks up from the butterfly bush. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This image of the gravid Western tiger swallowtail shows the enlarged abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Orange and blue spots accent this yellow and black butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
