Posts Tagged: Natural Resources
The Spider and the Bee
A crab spider, family Thomisidae, lies motionless in a patch of lavender, waiting to ambush a honey bee. So here I am, a crab spider, as hungry as can be Does anyone out there feel sorry for me? "Yes," say the...
A crab spider lies in wait, as a honey bee nectars on a lavender blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee takes flight, out of reach of the crab spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
You missed me, Mr. Crab Spider. You missed me. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Secret Life of a Blister Beetle
Blister beetles (family Meloidae) are so named because they emit a poisonous chemical, cantharidin, that can blister your skin. Don't even think about touching them! Blister beetles can infest alfalfa hay, and are toxic--even...
A blister beetle (family Meloidae) eating pollen from the Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Our Buddies in the Garden
When you venture into your pollinator garden, look for the beauty, color, diversity and the intensity that surrounds you. You will be astounded. A honey bee nectaring on lavender in a soft-pastel scenario. A katydid nymph crawling (backlit) on a...
A honey bee nectars on lavender in a Vacaville garden. The soft pastel colors almost resemble a painting. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A katydid nymph crawls on a blanketflower, Gaillaria. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Gulf Fritillary butterfly, Agraulis vanillae, nectaring on lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a Cosmo and looking for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Goodbye! A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, exits a lavender patch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Meet 'The Moth Man' at Bohart Museum's Moth Night
Meet "The Moth Man." If you attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual Moth Night celebration, affiliated with National Moth Week, you'll meet John De Benedictis, better known as “The Moth Man.” The indoor-outdoor event, free...
These three entomologists were trained directly or indirectly by Jerry Powell (1933-2023) of UC Berkeley. From left are Dan Rubinoff, John De Benedictus and Paul Opler (1938-2023) at a gathering of lepidopterists in 2019 at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. Powell and Paul Opler (1938-2023) co-authored Moths of Western America, published in 2009. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ettamarie Peterson: The Queen Bee Who'd Rather Be a Worker Bee
Ettamarie Peterson, fondly known as "The Queen Bee of Sonoma County," will be displaying a bee observation hive at the Vacaville Museum's Children's Party on Thursday, Aug. 8 but the life of a queen bee is not for her. "I have decided I...
Encouraged by the workshop instructor to hold newly emerged bees, Ettamarie Peterson shows a handful of bees at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Ettamarie Peterson stands next to Miss Bee Haven, an eight-foot-long ceramic-mosaic sculpture of a worker bee at the UC Davis Bee Haven. It is the work of Donna Billick of Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)