Posts Tagged: Vacaville

Leave Me Alone, Please--I'm Eating!

"Leave me alone, please--I'm eating." The monarch caterpillar feasting on the tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif.,...

A monarch caterpillar feasting on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar feasting on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar stretches out on a leaf, binge eating. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch caterpillar stretches out on a leaf, binge eating. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, hello there! But move along, please. Can't you see I'm eating? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, hello there! But move along, please. Can't you see I'm eating? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The milkweed is always greener on the other side. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The milkweed is always greener on the other side. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Portraits of a Monarch Just Stopping By

Welcome, Danaus plexippus!  A monarch butterfly, the first of the year, fluttered through our family pollinator garden in Vacaville,...

A male monarch, Danaus plexippus, spreads its wings on a tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii) in Vacaville, Calif. on Sunday, May 23. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male monarch, Danaus plexippus, spreads its wings on a tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii) in Vacaville, Calif. on Sunday, May 23. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch lands on a mallow, Althaea officinalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch lands on a mallow, Althaea officinalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch took a liking to a yellow rose, "Sparkle and Shine," related to the Julia Child rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch took a liking to a yellow rose, "Sparkle and Shine," related to the Julia Child rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch touched down on a succulent, hens-and-chicks (when it blooms, it's known as a "rooster." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch touched down on a succulent, hens-and-chicks (when it blooms, it's known as a "rooster." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch stayed on the ear of a cat (garden sculpture) for about five minutes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The monarch stayed on the ear of a cat (garden sculpture) for about five minutes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Painted Ladies: Yes, They Do!

Yes, they do, and yes, she did. Painted lady butterflies, Vanessa cardui, do lay their eggs on Echium wildpretii, commonly known as "the tower of...

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, laying her eggs on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, laying her eggs on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This painted lady, Vanessa cardui, is foraging on lantana in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This painted lady, Vanessa cardui, is foraging on lantana in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Meet the Mountain Boy

I call him the Mountain Boy. A male carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, appeared in our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif.,on Feb. 27,...

A male carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, on a geranium in Vacaville, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, on a geranium in Vacaville, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, peers over a geranium petal in Vacaville, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, peers over a geranium petal in Vacaville, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Peek-a-bee! A close-up of a male carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, on a geranium in Vacaville, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Peek-a-bee! A close-up of a male carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, on a geranium in Vacaville, Calif., on Feb. 27, 2020. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Monarch Kind of Day

Today was a Monarch Kind of Day...in Vacaville. When Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, searched for butterfly...

Two monarchs arrived today at a pollinator garden in Vacaville to sip nectar from a patch of Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two monarchs arrived today at a pollinator garden in Vacaville to sip nectar from a patch of Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Both monarchs settle down to do some serious nectaring on the Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Both monarchs settle down to do some serious nectaring on the Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Time to go! Both monarchs get ready for take-off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Time to go! Both monarchs get ready for take-off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch sips nectar from a sky-high Tithonia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch sips nectar from a sky-high Tithonia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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