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Posts Tagged: Mexican sunflower
Seen Any Monarchs Lately? They're Stopping for Flight Fuel
Seen any monarchs lately? A beautiful male glided into our Vacaville garden late yesterday and made himself at home on our Mexican sunflowers,...
A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, on Monday, Oct. 24 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The nectar from the Tithonia is flight fuel for its journey an overwintering site along the California coast. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Time to go when a honey bee tries to horn in on your nectar! The monarch is prepared for take-off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Good Day for a Praying Mantis
It was a good day for a praying mantis. It was not a good day for a honey bee. Here's what happened in the "Daily Insect News": a gravid praying...
A gravid praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, dines on a honey bee in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's Friday Fly Day! Say 'Hi' to a Drone Fly
'Tis "Friday Fly Day" (also known as #Fridayflyday in the Twitter world), and it's almost Halloween. So why not combine the two with...
A drone fly, Eristalis tenax, nectaring on a pumpkin-orange Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of a drone fly, Eristalis tenax, sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The drone fly, Eristalis tenax, is sometimes called an "H bee" for its distinguished "H" on its abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
That's all, folks! A drone fly, Eristalis tenax, prepares to leave a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Monarch Who Arrived Late for Dinner
Never be late for dinner or it might be all gone. Take the case of the Mexican sunflowers, Tithonia rotundifola, that we planted last...
A male monarch arrives Oct. 3 to nectar Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a male monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A spent blossom hangs over a male monarch that is sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The male monarch samples nectar from a butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Spotted Cucumber Beetles: They Know How to Hit the Spot
Western spotted cucumber beetles know how to hit the spot. Make that "multiple spots." These...
Wide angle shot of a western spotted cucumber beetle, Diabrotica undecimpunctata, chewing a hole in a petal of a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a western spotted cucumber beetle chewing a hole in a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The end result: a Mexican sunflower you wouldn't want to enter in a county fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a western spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
