Posts Tagged: garden

Bee Flies: Pollinators with a Bad Reputation

The late Argentine-born biologist Beatriz Moisset (1934-2022) of Willow Grove, Pa., called the insect "A Pollinator with a Bad...

A bee fly, family Bombyliidae, heads for a yellow zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A bee fly, family Bombyliidae, heads for a yellow zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly hovers over a yellow zinina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly hovers over a yellow zinina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly sips nectar from the zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly sips nectar from the zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The bee fly takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarchs on the Move

For the past 13 days, monarchs have fluttered in and out of our Vacaville garden, nectaring on the Tithonia and zinnia. They are a beautiful...

A monarch butterfly nectars on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville pollinator garden on Sept. 3, 2023. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A monarch butterfly nectars on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville pollinator garden on Sept. 3, 2023. (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)

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)

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)

"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)

"I'm leaving, too!" The male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

WSU-Tagged Monarchs May Be Heading Your Way

Seen any tagged monarchs lately? If you live in California, tagged monarchs from the migratory research project of entomologist David James of...

A newly eclosed male monarch spreads its wings. In the back is a female. Both eclosed on Sept. 5 in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A newly eclosed male monarch spreads its wings. In the back is a female. Both eclosed on Sept. 5 in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A newly eclosed female monarch clings to a tropical milkweed leaf before taking flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A newly eclosed female monarch clings to a tropical milkweed leaf before taking flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Legendary Robbin Thorp: A Tribute Well Deserved

When UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal created a video tribute honoring the UC Davis faculty who recently transitioned to emeriti, he...

The legendary Robbin Thorp in front of an almond tree on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The legendary Robbin Thorp in front of an almond tree on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Read more