Posts Tagged: Tithonia

Monarch Butterflies as Pollinators

"More than beautiful, monarch butterflies contribute to the health of our planet. While feeding on nectar, they pollinate many types of...

Bees are the most well known pollinators, but butterflies, including monarchs, are pollinators, too. This monarch butterfly, sipping nectar in a Vacaville garden, came up with a head full of pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bees are the most well known pollinators, but butterflies, including monarchs, are pollinators, too. This monarch butterfly, sipping nectar in a Vacaville garden, came up with a head full of pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Monarch Takes Flight

A monarch on the move... When you see a monarch foraging on a flower, have you ever seen them--or photographed them--taking flight? It's not your...

A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A few twists and turns, a jumble of colors and jagged lines, and the male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A few twists and turns, a jumble of colors and jagged lines, and the male monarch takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Let's Roll!

Let's roll! During the golden hour, right before sunset, have you ever watched a male longhorned bee roll full-barrel over a flower at Top Gun...

A male Melissodes agilis barreling over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A male Melissodes agilis barreling over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What Good Is a Butterfly?

In his fascinating book, "Life on a Little-Known Planet: A Biologist's View of Insects and Their World,"...

A tattered Gulf Fritillary sipping nectar from a zinnia in a Vacaville, Calif., garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A tattered Gulf Fritillary sipping nectar from a zinnia in a Vacaville, Calif., garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary laying an egg on her host plant, Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary laying an egg on her host plant, Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary showing rejection toward a mate after laying an egg on the tendrils of a passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary showing rejection toward a mate after laying an egg on the tendrils of a passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Fiery Skipper Likes 'Places Where People Mow Lawns'

Ah, the fiery skipper, Hylephila phyleus! They are, as UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro says, "California's most urban...

A fiery skipper, Hylephila phyleus, takes flight. The flower is the Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A fiery skipper, Hylephila phyleus, takes flight. The flower is the Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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