Master Gardeners of Ventura County
University of California
Master Gardeners of Ventura County

Posts Tagged: lavender

Cinderella and the White Cabbage Butterfly

If Cinderella were a butterfly, she'd probably be a white cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae. The butterfly--in its larval stage it's a pest of cucurbits--is stunning as an adult.  Just think of a flowing white gown, exquisite pirouettes, and a...

A cabbage white butterfly nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A cabbage white butterfly nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A cabbage white butterfly nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caught in flight--a cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, leaves a lavender blossom.  Image taken with a Nikon Z8 and 105mm Nikon lens. Settings: shutter speed, 1/3200 of a second; f-stop, 3: and ISO, 800. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Caught in flight--a cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, leaves a lavender blossom. Image taken with a Nikon Z8 and 105mm Nikon lens. Settings: shutter speed, 1/3200 of a second; f-stop, 3: and ISO, 800. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caught in flight--a cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, leaves a lavender blossom. Image taken with a Nikon Z8 and 105mm Nikon lens. Settings: shutter speed, 1/3200 of a second; f-stop, 3: and ISO, 800. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, July 2, 2024 at 4:36 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Why It's Called a 'Boys' Night Out'

Ever seen the male longhorned bees, Melissodes agilis, zipping around your garden, trying to bump all critters, large and small, off of "their" blossoms? They own them, ya' know. These male bees are SO territorial. We've seen them target honey...

A horizontal view of male Melissodes bees sleeping on a lavender stem. Image taken just after dawn in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A horizontal view of male Melissodes bees sleeping on a lavender stem. Image taken just after dawn in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A horizontal view of male Melissodes bees sleeping on a lavender stem. Image taken just after dawn in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's up, sleepy head? A sleepy male Melissodes agilis bee begins to stir at dawn. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's up, sleepy head? A sleepy male Melissodes agilis bee begins to stir at dawn. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's up, sleepy head? A sleepy male Melissodes agilis bee begins to stir at dawn. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, July 1, 2024 at 5:09 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

A Bee and a Butterfly: Sharing a Lavender Blossom

Ever seen a honey bee and a butterfly sharing a lavender blossom? Just in time for National Pollinator Week, June 17-23, we saw this today. What could be more pollinator friendly than that? The honey bee, Apis mellifera, and the Gulf...

A Gulf Fritillary and a honey bee sharing the same lavender blossom in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary and a honey bee sharing the same lavender blossom in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary and a honey bee sharing the same lavender blossom in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, June 21, 2024 at 3:21 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Yard & Garden

Battle Over the Lavender: Mine, All Mine!

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is foraging on lavender in a Vacaville garden. Abruptly, the bumble bee senses a fast-approaching honey bee, Apis mellifera. Bombus: "Hey, bee, this is my territory, my...

A yellow-face bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is interrupted by a fast-approaching honey bee as it's nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow-face bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is interrupted by a fast-approaching honey bee as it's nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-face bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is interrupted by a fast-approaching honey bee as it's nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, June 12, 2024 at 7:56 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

The Return of Bombus

The English lavender drew her in. And there she was, a yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging in our family's pollinator garden in Vacaville. She buzzed from blossom to blossom, ignoring the honey bees, syrphid flies...

A yellow-faced Bombus vosnesenskii, prepares to sip nectar from an English lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A yellow-faced Bombus vosnesenskii, prepares to sip nectar from an English lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-faced Bombus vosnesenskii, prepares to sip nectar from an English lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, sipping nectar.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, sipping nectar.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, sipping nectar.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, departs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, departs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, departs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, June 6, 2023 at 4:42 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Read more

 
E-mail
 

 

 

Webmaster Email: jtyler@ucanr.edu