Posts Tagged: butterfly
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...
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)
Oops! Wrong Species, Wrong Gender
So here's this male monarch nectaring on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. The nectar is rich and he is as hungry as a migrant...
A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, touches down next to a male monarch, Danaus plexippus, on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male monarch lets the painted lady know that his advances are unwelcome. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Okay, I'm leaving" The painted lady takes off as the monarch also prepares to leave. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"I'm leaving, too!" The male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Vanessa cardui: Luck Be a Lady
When Frank Loesser (1910-1969) wrote and composed "Luck Be a Lady" in 1950, he wasn't thinking of a butterfly. But when we spotted this Painted...
A Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, with chunked-out wings, nectars on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Painted Lady, looking ready for take-off, sips nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Seen Any Dead Butterflies? USGS Survey Seeks Specimens in Six States
Have you seen any dead butterflies lately? If you live in Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma or Texas, the United States...
A monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A buckeye butterfly, Junonia coenia, on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (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...
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)