Posts Tagged: California buckeye

Eye on the Buckeye

It won't bloom until summer, but already many eyes are on the California buckeye. The tree's blossoms are poisonous to honey bees.  Bees are...

Honey bee foraging last May on a California buckeye, which is poisonous to honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee foraging last May on a California buckeye, which is poisonous to honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A California buckeye blooming in May of last year on the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A California buckeye blooming in May of last year on the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Miss Is as Good as a Mile

A miss is as good as a mile...or a smile. The Buckeye (Junonia coenia) is a striking butterfly patterned with eyespots and white bars. We saw one...

Buckeye butterfly on sedum. Note the missing chunks of its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Buckeye butterfly on sedum. Note the missing chunks of its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sideview of Buckeye butterfly-almost a meal for a predator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sideview of Buckeye butterfly-almost a meal for a predator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An intact Buckeye on sedum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Buckeye on sedum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollen: Precious Gold

The California Gold Rush (1848-1855) has nothing on honey bees. Sometimes foraging honey bees are covered with their own kind of gold--pollen--or...

Honey bee is covered with pollen from a blanket flower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee is covered with pollen from a blanket flower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee is dusted with pollen from the blanket flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee is dusted with pollen from the blanket flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lift off? The bee struggles to take off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lift off? The bee struggles to take off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Shall We Prey?

The California Buckeye (Junonia coenia), with its bold eyespots and white bars, is an easily recognizable butterfly. The problem: getting close...

Buckeye spreads it wings on an African daisy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Buckeye spreads it wings on an African daisy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Shattered Buckeye, probably the work of a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Shattered Buckeye, probably the work of a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The predator? Could have been this praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The predator? Could have been this praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lovely to Look at, but...

They're definitely attracted to it.Honey bees forage furiously on the California buckeye (Aesculus californica).It's not a good bee plant, though....

Honey bee foraging on buckeye blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bee foraging on buckeye blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

California buckeye in bloom behind Hoagland Hall at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

California buckeye in bloom behind Hoagland Hall at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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