So, you're looking for some host plants to attract butterflies, like monarchs and pipevine swallowtails? You're yearning to see monarch eggs, caterpillars and chrysalids on milkweed. Ditto for the pipevine swallowtails on their host plant, Dutchman's pipe.

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Two honey bees compete for floral resources as they forage on a Japanese anemone in the Luther Burbank gardens, Santa Rosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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October 22nd, 2015

Honey bees were all over the Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis) on Monday, Oct. 19 at the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, Santa Rosa. They just could not get enough of the colorful flower, also known as a windflower or thimbleweed.

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A Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) lands on a passioinflower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Strange Weather We're Having

October 21st, 2015

Strange weather we're having here in Central California. After soaring into the 90s, the temperatures pushed again into the 80s today (Oct.21). The Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) are "making the most-est" of their host plant, passionflower vines. Blossoms keep popping up like so much popcorn.

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Honey bee caught in the storm attempts to dry off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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That Wet Stuff!

October 20th, 2015

The rain that pounded Northern California on Oct. 18--complete with thunder and lightening--also drenched a few honey bees that waited out the storm.

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A common gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, nectarine on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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A Winning Streak

October 19th, 2015

It's delightful to see the gray hairstreak. We're not talking about the gray streaks in our hair as we age (to perfection, of course!). We're talking about the gray hairstreak, a common gray butterfly found throughout the United States, coast to coast, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.

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