Bug Blog
Walking the Line
Some folks like to watch the grass grow, flowers bloom, or clouds drift. Others just like to sit back and look for insects. We spotted this seven-spotted lady beetle (aka ladybug) last Monday...
Seven-spotted lady beetle on a California fuchsia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lady beetle searching for some tasty aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lady beetle pauses on mid-stem. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
As the Worm Turns
There it was. A green caterpillar, aka larva, aka worm, occupied a blanket flower (Gaillardia) last Friday morning in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre pollinator garden on...
Buddies? A honey bee edges toward a Noctuid caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
If two is company, is three a crowd? Painted Lady, honey bee and Noctuid caterpillar on blanket flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Love Those Gulf Frits
If you're passionate about Passiflora (passion flower vine), you're probably passionate about those Gulf Fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae). It's November with temperatures in the...
Ant investigates a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, spreads its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Spotlighting Butterflies
If you want to learn about butterflies, "there's an app for that." And a free one, at that. UC Davis graduate student Melissa Whitaker, who is studying for her doctorate with noted butterfly expert...
Western tiger swallowtail is one of the butterflies listed in Melissa Whitaker's app. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's No Vegetarian
Bee specialists like to point out that the yellowjacket is a carnivore and the honey bee is a vegetarian. They are, indeed. The yellowjacket is an aggressive predator that seeks protein-rich foods...
Western yellowjacket (Vespula penyslvanica) heading toward a red-hot poker (but this variety is yellow). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Western yellowjacket buries its head in a tubular flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Western yellowjacket foraging. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Western yellowjacket assumes the shape of a comma. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bottoms up--western yellowjacket moves away from the camera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)