Posts Tagged: Benicia marina

Valentine's Day: Looking for a Suitor?

On Valentine's Day, it's inaccurate to say that "everything is coming up roses." Not everything. Think jumping spiders on flowers. They come up, too. Take that jumping spider (family Salticidae) perched on a red trumpetlike vine at the Benicia Marina,...

A jumping spider sunning itself. Another jumping spider is below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A jumping spider sunning itself. Another jumping spider is below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Stare-down. A jumping spider stares at the camera while another jumper spider (blur) moves below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Stare-down. A jumping spider stares at the camera while another jumper spider (blur) moves below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Anise Swallowtail: Have You Seen Me?

An anise swallowtail fluttered in and out of the tall anise bordering the banks of the Benicia Marina. A beautiful sight. The female butterfly (Papilio zelicaon), as identified by butterfly expert Arthur Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at...

Female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, as identified by butterfly expert Art Shapiro of UC Davis, visiting anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, as identified by butterfly expert Art Shapiro of UC Davis, visiting anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, touches down on anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female anise swallowtail,Papilio zelicaon, touches down on anise at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Up and away--the female anise swallowtail flutters away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Up and away--the female anise swallowtail flutters away. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

European paper wasp, apparently scouting the anise for butterfly eggs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

European paper wasp, apparently scouting the anise for butterfly eggs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Do You Brake for Wasps?

Do you brake for wasps? We spotted a bumper sticker on the UC Davis campus the other day that read: "I brake for wasps." It was parked in the Briggs Hall loading zone--Briggs is the home of the UC Davis Department of Entomology--so I imagine it was...

Solitary vespid foraging on Indian hawthorn at the Benicia marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Solitary vespid foraging ndian hawthorn at the Benicia marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Upside down, a solitary vespid checks out its surroundings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Upside down, a solitary vespid checks out its surroundings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

And away it goes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

And away it goes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Read more