Posts Tagged: garden

Behold: the Banded Alder Borer

So there it was, an exotic-looking bug resting against a freshly painted red bollard at a Vacaville supermarket. It was not there to shop. Or to...

The banded alder borer is attracted to fresh paint, probably because of the phermone-like scent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The banded alder borer is attracted to fresh paint, probably because of the phermone-like scent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris, crawls on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris, crawls on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. It's a longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. It's a longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye with a banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye with a banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee and a Butterfly: Sharing a Lavender Blossom

Ever seen a honey bee and a butterfly sharing a lavender blossom? Just in time for National Pollinator Week, June 17-23, we saw this...

A Gulf Fritillary and a honey bee sharing the same lavender blossom in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary and a honey bee sharing the same lavender blossom in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Applause for the Pollinators

Bees, butterflies, beetles, birds and bats. What do they have in common? Skipping the alliteration for a moment, they're all pollinators. Honey...

A Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, touches down on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, touches down on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The soldier beetle (family Cantharida) is also a pollinator. This insect resembles the uniforms of the British soldiers of the American Revolution. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The soldier beetle (family Cantharida) is also a pollinator. This insect resembles the uniforms of the British soldiers of the American Revolution. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, and a Western yellowjacket, Vespula penslvanica, sharing a rose. Both are pollinators. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, and a Western yellowjacket, Vespula penslvanica, sharing a rose. Both are pollinators. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, and a bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, sharing a purple cone flower, Echinacea purpurea. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee, Apis mellifera, and a bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, sharing a purple cone flower, Echinacea purpurea. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Battle Over the Lavender: Mine, All Mine!

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is foraging on lavender in a Vacaville garden. Abruptly, the bumble bee senses a...

A yellow-face bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is interrupted by a fast-approaching honey bee as it's nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A yellow-face bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, is interrupted by a fast-approaching honey bee as it's nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Finding Pollen on Echium During National Pollinator Month

It's National Pollinator Month, and what better time to find a tiny speck of a bee on a seven-foot tower of jewels,...

A sweat bee, possibly Halictus tripartitus, foraging on pollen on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A sweat bee, possibly Halictus tripartitus, foraging on pollen on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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