Posts Tagged: monarchs

How Do Monarchs Know When to Migrate? Bohart Museum Open House Jan. 18

How do monarch butterflies know when to migrate? Take the case of a male monarch reared, released and tagged by Steven Johnson in a Washington State...

Eight microscopes will be available at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Jan. 18. Visitors can view the research projects of doctoral students. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eight microscopes will be available at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Jan. 18. Visitors can view the research projects of doctoral students. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ants will be the topic of Zachary Griebenow of the Phil Ward lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. This image shows emeritus professor Jerry Powell of UC Berkeley identifying insects at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ants will be the topic of Zachary Griebenow of the Phil Ward lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. This image shows emeritus professor Jerry Powell of UC Berkeley identifying insects at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Red Invaders: Those Colorful Milkweed Bugs

If you've been finding more milkweed bugs than monarchs on your milkweed, join the crowd. Monarchs are scarce--at least around Solano and Yolo...

A small milkweed bug Lygaeus kalmii) stands peers over the leaf of a milkweed plant, Asclepias speciosa, in Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A small milkweed bug Lygaeus kalmii) stands peers over the leaf of a milkweed plant, Asclepias speciosa, in Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Small milkweed bugs mingling on a showy milkeed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Small milkweed bugs mingling on a showy milkeed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A mass of small milkweed bugs, red invaders! The blood red color sharply contrasts with the green milkweed pod. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A mass of small milkweed bugs, red invaders! The blood red color sharply contrasts with the green milkweed pod. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hey, I'm Eating as Fast as I Can!

Have you ever seen the larva of a lady beetle (aka ladybug) dining on an aphid? Lights! Camera! Action! So here is this charming little immature...

An immature lady beetle (larvae) chowing down on an oleander aphid. This photo was taken on a milkweed plant in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An immature lady beetle (larvae) chowing down on an oleander aphid. This photo was taken on a milkweed plant in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A well-fed adult lady beetle (aka ladybug) ignores a fat Oleander aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A well-fed adult lady beetle (aka ladybug) ignores a fat Oleander aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Monarch Takes Flight

A monarch butterfly took flight at the third annual Butterfly Summit at Annie's Annuals and Perennials in Richmond, an event co-sponsored by the Bay...

Pollinator Posse member, Seth Newton Patel of Oakland watches his 4-year-old daughter Saathiya Patel, 4, dressed as a monarch butterfly, take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollinator Posse member, Seth Newton Patel of Oakland watches his 4-year-old daughter Saathiya Patel, 4, dressed as a monarch butterfly, take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch for a day! Pollinator Posse member, Seth Newton Patel of Oakland and his 4-year-old daughter Saathiya Patel, 4, helped out at the third annual Butterfly Summit. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch for a day! Pollinator Posse member, Seth Newton Patel of Oakland and his 4-year-old daughter Saathiya Patel, 4, helped out at the third annual Butterfly Summit. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Terry Smith (left), co-founder of the Pollinator Posse, and Jackie Salas, horticulturist at Children's Fairyland, Oakland, staff the Pollinator Posse booth. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Terry Smith (left), co-founder of the Pollinator Posse, and Jackie Salas, horticulturist at Children's Fairyland, Oakland, staff the Pollinator Posse booth. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Part of the Pollinator Posse's display at the third annual Butterfly Summit. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Part of the Pollinator Posse's display at the third annual Butterfly Summit. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Colorful flowers greeted the attendees at the third annual Butterfly Summit at Annie's Annuals and Perennials. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Colorful flowers greeted the attendees at the third annual Butterfly Summit at Annie's Annuals and Perennials. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Those Disappearing Western Monarchs

It's good to see butterflies, especially monarchs, getting so much press. Now let's see if we can press the issue. The Washington Post just...

Monarchs on the fly in a Vacaville, Calif., pollinator garden in September 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarchs on the fly in a Vacaville, Calif., pollinator garden in September 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

One of the monarchs reared in Vacaville, Calif. in 2016. It's ready to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

One of the monarchs reared in Vacaville, Calif. in 2016. It's ready to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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