Master Gardeners of Ventura County
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Master Gardeners of Ventura County

Posts Tagged: green bottle fly

On the Fly

Flies seem to be in the news a lot lately. But have you ever looking closely at a common green bottle fly Lucilia sericata, also known as a blowfly? Ever admired their brilliant metallic blue-green coloration? Ever thought about them as...

A common green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, seeking nectar on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A common green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, seeking nectar on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A common green bottle fly, Lucilia sericata, seeking nectar on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The green bottle fly sips some nectar from a tropical milkweed blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The green bottle fly sips some nectar from a tropical milkweed blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The green bottle fly sips some nectar from a tropical milkweed blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flies can be pollinators, too, but they're better known for their forensic, veterinary and medical importance. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Flies can be pollinators, too, but they're better known for their forensic, veterinary and medical importance. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flies can be pollinators, too, but they're better known for their forensic, veterinary and medical importance. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a green bottle fly sipping nectar from a tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a green bottle fly sipping nectar from a tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of a green bottle fly sipping nectar from a tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, October 16, 2020 at 4:44 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Health, Yard & Garden

What's for Dinner? Drama on a Sunflower Blossom

What's for dinner? If you're a praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a sunflower, sometimes it can be a long wait. Breakfast fades into lunch, lunch fades into dinner... First you scout out your territory and spread out (hey,...

A praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, spreads out across a sunflower blossom in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, spreads out across a sunflower blossom in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, spreads out across a sunflower blossom in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotcha! The praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, snags what appears to be a green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gotcha! The praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, snags what appears to be a green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotcha! The praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, snags what appears to be a green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The praying mantis nymph,  Stagmomantis limbata, finishing dinner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, finishing dinner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, finishing dinner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, June 30, 2020 at 3:50 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Food, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

What's for Dinner? How About a Green Bottle Fly?

What's for dinner? A crab spider, camouflaged in our lavender patch, didn't catch a honey bee, a butterfly, an ant or a syrphid fly. No, it nailed a green bottle fly. We couldn't help but notice. The fly's metallic blue-green coloring stood in sharp...

A crab spider dines on a green bottle fly in a lavender patch in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A crab spider dines on a green bottle fly in a lavender patch in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A crab spider dines on a green bottle fly in a lavender patch in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The crab spider is camouflaged, but its prey, a green bottle fly with its familiar metallic blue-green coloring, isn't. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The crab spider is camouflaged, but its prey, a green bottle fly with its familiar metallic blue-green coloring, isn't. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The crab spider is camouflaged, but its prey, a green bottle fly with its familiar metallic blue-green coloring, isn't. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, June 25, 2019 at 4:53 PM
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Environment, Health, Yard & Garden

As Green as a...Well...Green Bottle Fly

Strange thing, nobody ever says "as green as a green bottle fly." 'Cept maybe an entomologist. You've heard: As green as an emerald As green as a lizard As green as a gourd As green as grass As green as bottled glass As green as it gets But...

A green bottle fly nectaring on Lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A green bottle fly nectaring on Lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A green bottle fly nectaring on Lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye with a green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Eye to eye with a green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye with a green bottle fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Thursday, November 10, 2016 at 4:39 PM

A Newly Emerged Green Bottle Fly

Flies are pollinators, too. It's appropriate during National Pollinator Week to remember that. We spotted this newly emerged green bottle fly (below) nectaring on lavender last week in our yard. It seemed out of place among the honey bees,...

Newly emerged green bottle fly nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Newly emerged green bottle fly nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Newly emerged green bottle fly nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at 10:24 PM

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