Bug Blog
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...
Newly emerged green bottle fly nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Long-Horned Bee
We have long-horned cattle and long-horned grasshoppers. How about long-horned bees? It's National Pollinator Week and what better time to run some photos of long-horned bees from the...
Male long-horned bee, genus Melissodes, probably Melissodes communis, as identified by Robbin Thorp. It is on salvia (sage). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of long-horned bee, a male Melissodes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Up, up and away. Male Melissodes, long-horned bee, over salvia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hop to It!
What's that hopping on our patio? At first we thought it was a grasshopper. Not! It was a katydid, sometimes called a "long-horned grasshopper," from the family Tettigoniidae (as identified by...
A katydid, or "long-horned grasshopper," from family Tettigonliidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Purple Forest
Flowering artichokes indicate one of two things (1) someone never bothered to harvest them or (2) someone loves bees. We let our artichokes flower. So does the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee...
Honey bee heads toward a flowering artichoke. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Touchdown! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
You can't see the forest for the bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Overlooked Bees of Bodega Head
Those who hike the trails of Bodega Head, a small promontory in Sonoma County overlooking the Pacific Ocean, enjoy the colorful wildflowers, the roaring ocean, and a sheltered sandy beach. They...
A female digger bee finishes her nest. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A digger bee scouts the landscape. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Flying low, flying fast. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sandy cliffs of Bodega Head hold bee villages. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)