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

Bug Blog

A Monarch Kind of Day

What we've been waiting for all season... A migratory monarch butterfly fluttered into our Vacaville garden at noon today (Tuesday, Sept. 17) and nectared on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. Then she treated us to a...

A female monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotunifola, in a Vacaville garden at noon, Sept. 17, 2024. At left is a territorial male longhorned bee, probably Melissodes agilis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A female monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotunifola, in a Vacaville garden at noon, Sept. 17, 2024. At left is a territorial male longhorned bee, probably Melissodes agilis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotunifola, in a Vacaville garden at noon, Sept. 17, 2024. At left is a territorial male longhorned bee, probably Melissodes agilis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The female monarch butterfly lifts off the Tithonia. This image was taken with a Nikon D500 with a 200mm macro lens. Settings: 1/4000 of a second; f-stop, 5.6; ISO 640.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The female monarch butterfly lifts off the Tithonia. This image was taken with a Nikon D500 with a 200mm macro lens. Settings: 1/4000 of a second; f-stop, 5.6; ISO 640.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The female monarch butterfly lifts off the Tithonia. This image was taken with a Nikon D500 with a 200mm macro lens. Settings: 1/4000 of a second; f-stop, 5.6; ISO 640.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch descends, ready to head to another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch descends, ready to head to another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch descends, ready to head to another blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

She lifts up and away she goes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
She lifts up and away she goes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

She lifts up and away she goes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Tuesday, September 17, 2024 at 8:24 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

Tiny Bug, Big Trouble, Great Science

You may have never seen this tiny bug that's causing big trouble. But agriculturists and scientists have. The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is an agricultural pest that is super tiny. It's approximately 2 to 4...

Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzuki, on a raspberry. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzuki, on a raspberry. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzuki, on a raspberry. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Monday, September 16, 2024 at 3:43 PM
Focus Area Tags: Agriculture, Economic Development, Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Pest Management

It's Friday Fly Day: How About a Mexican Cactus Fly?

It's Friday Fly Day, when folks post images of flies.  Flies seem to the entomological equivalent of Rodney Dangerfield's "I-don't-get-no-respect" quote. So how about a black syrphid fly, a Mexican cactus...

A black syrphid fly, a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, foraging on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A black syrphid fly, a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, foraging on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A black syrphid fly, a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, foraging on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Friday, September 13, 2024 at 8:00 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

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)

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

Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2024 at 6:45 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

A Halloween Surprise: A Migratory Monarch

It's beginning to look a lot like...Halloween. If you haven't noticed, stores are gearing up for Halloween with assorted ghosts, goblins and ghouls for you.  We remember Halloween 2023 when a female migratory monarch fluttered into our pollinator...

A migrating monarch butterfly stops on Halloween, Oct. 31 to sip nectar from a milkweed in a Vacaville garden. She was on her way to an overwintering site in coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A migrating monarch butterfly stops on Halloween, Oct. 31 to sip nectar from a milkweed in a Vacaville garden. She was on her way to an overwintering site in coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A migrating monarch butterfly stops on Halloween, Oct. 31 to sip nectar from a milkweed in a Vacaville garden. She was on her way to an overwintering site in coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The female monarch spreads her wings. She stopped in Vacaville on Halloween 2023 for some flight fuel while on her way to an overwintering site in coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The female monarch spreads her wings. She stopped in Vacaville on Halloween 2023 for some flight fuel while on her way to an overwintering site in coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The female monarch spreads her wings. She stopped in Vacaville on Halloween 2023 for some flight fuel while on her way to an overwintering site in coastal California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Posted on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 at 2:34 PM
Focus Area Tags: Environment, Innovation, Natural Resources, Yard & Garden

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