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Posts Tagged: monarch butterfly
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)
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)
She lifts up and away she goes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lawn-pocalypse! Surviving Drought
Ah, summer! The season of sunburns, pool parties, and… lawn droughts. If your once lush, green carpet now looks like a crunchy brown doormat, you're not alone. Let's dive into why your yard is staging a dramatic death scene and what you can do to...
Bermuda grass and weeds overtaking drought stressed turf grass.
A Bigeyed Bug and a Monarch Butterfly
You've heard folks call insects "big 'ol bugs" (often in astonishment or terror), right? But have you ever seen a "bigeyed bug on a monarch butterfly?" Bigeyed bugs, Geocoris spp., are beneficial insects, "found mostly on...
A bigeyed bug on the wing of a monarch butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch vs. Honey Bee: 'Nectar for Me, None for You'
The monarch migration is well underway. The iconic butterflies fluttering into California from the Pacific Northwest engage in "nectar stops" to fuel their flight to their overwintering sites along coastal California. They are not the only ones seeking...
A migrating monarch butterfly finds nectar in a zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee wants nectar, too. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee buzzes the wings of the monarch hoping it will leave. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch takes the hint. A bee wants that nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis Professor Louie Yang: On Conserving the Western Monarch Population
"Recent studies have continued to shed light on the ecology of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in western North America. These studies have documented a declining overwintering population over several decades, punctuated by unexpected variability...
A monarch leaving a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. This image was taken in a pollinator garden in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
