If want to plant a passionflower vine (Passiflora)--the host plant of Gulf Fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae)--in your garden, go for the species that produce lavender or purple flowers, "not the red ones." That's what we've been told for years.

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Many senior citizens who develop new hobbies (such as rearing monarch butterflies) believe this keeps their brain active and leads to greater enthusiasm for life. Supercentarian Jeanne Calment of France lived to be 122. One of her interests was playing the piano. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Science Café: Ask a Scientist a Question, Such as 'Are There Upper Limits to Human Lifespan?'

October 3rd, 2018

If you've ever wanted to ask a scientist a question, here's your opportunity. Ask away at the Science Caf. This is an informative scientific presentation held the second Wednesday of each month in the G St. Wunderbar, 228 G St., Davis. The scientist delivers a brief talk and then engages the public.

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Honey bees circle a fork-tailed bush katydid feeding on a yellow rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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This Katydid Did

October 2nd, 2018

The katydid, as green as the leaves around it, is feeding on a yellow rose. It is paying no attention to the circling honey bees. The bees want nectar, not an encounter with a critter far bigger than they are. The katydid slowly moves from one devastated blossom to a bud.

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Ms. Mantis, on a redwood stake in a milkweed planter in Vacaville, Calif., is trying to find a place to lay her egg mass, an ootheca. This image was taken Sunday night, Sept. 23. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Ooh, an Ootheca!

October 1st, 2018

Hide and seek. She hides 'em and we seek 'em. We've spotted as many as seven adult praying mantids at a time in our little pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif., but never once have we seen any of them laying eggs. Until now.

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Oleander aphids clustering on a milkweed stem. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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The Enemy of the Gardener

September 28th, 2018

Aphids, don't you just hate them? Especially those oleander aphids that suck the very lifeblood out of our milkweed plants that we're struggling to save for monarch butterflies. Just call aphids "The Enemy of the Gardener" or "The Enemy of the Milkweed.

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