Posts Tagged: honey

A Bee-Butterfly Battle Over a Zinnia

An Anise Swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, settles on a red zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden and begins sipping the nectar. A...

An Anise Swallowtail, sipping nectar from a red zinnia, seems unaware of a buzzing honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An Anise Swallowtail, sipping nectar from a red zinnia, seems unaware of a buzzing honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Anise Swallowtail: "What great nectar!" Bee: "I want some, too!" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Anise Swallowtail: "What great nectar!" Bee: "I want some, too!" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Anise Swallowtail: "This nectar is great." Bee: "Are you sharing or moving or what?" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Anise Swallowtail: "This nectar is great." Bee: "Are you sharing or moving or what?" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's touch and go! The honey bee, Apis mellifera, touches and the Anise Swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, goes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's touch and go! The honey bee, Apis mellifera, touches and the Anise Swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, goes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Celebrating the Honey Bee on Labor Day

It's Labor Day but "The Girls" continue to work. "The Girls" are the honey bees, a great example of a matriarchal society. How many workers...

A honey bee, packing a load of orange pollen, buzzes over a red zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, packing a load of orange pollen, buzzes over a red zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Here's to Celebrating National Honey Bee Day

Hear that buzz? National Honey Bee Day is Saturday, Aug. 19 and you're invited to join this oh-so-sweet celebration! Launched in 2009, National...

A honey bee foraging in a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee foraging in a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Packing the Red Pollen

Ever seen a honey bee packing red pollen?  Rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora) is one flower that yields red pollen.  It's a...

A honey bee packing red pollen as she visits another rock purslane blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee packing red pollen as she visits another rock purslane blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A little adjustment of her pollen load and the honey bee reaches a rock purslane blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A little adjustment of her pollen load and the honey bee reaches a rock purslane blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tobacco Budworm Vs. Honey Bee

Please, please, forget to eat our forget-me-nots!  But it's not going to happen. So here we are in our Vacaville pollinator garden, looking at...

A tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens, munching on Chinese forget-me-nots in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A tobacco budworm, Heliothis virescens,, munching on Chinese forget-me-nots in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee arrives and wants the same flower that the tobacco budworm is munching on. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee arrives and wants the same flower that the tobacco budworm is munching on. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's a "no go" for sharing. The honey bee opts for a different blossom as the tobacco budworm continues munching. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's a "no go" for sharing. The honey bee opts for a different blossom as the tobacco budworm continues munching. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The honey bee tries to push her way in but the tobacco budworm refuses to budge. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The honey bee tries to push her way in but the tobacco budworm refuses to budge. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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