The hummingbirds seemed apprehensive. They'd fly to the feeder, stop in mid-air, and turn back. What was keeping them from the feeder? A closer look revealed what the casual observer wouldn't notice: a praying mantis.

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A honey bee pollinating an apple blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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What Do You Know About Neonics?

August 6th, 2015

What do you know about neonicotinoids, aka neonics? An educational opportunity to learn more about them--the truths and the myths--will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 9 at the University of Caifornia, Davis, and you're invited. It's open to the public.

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Praying mantids emerging from an ootheca. (Photo by Rita LeRoy)

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An Absolutely Amazing Photo!

August 5th, 2015

Rita LeRoy, the self-described "Farm Keeper" at the Loma Vista Farm, Vallejo, takes amazing photos. We recently wrote about the farm, part of the Vallejo City Unified School District, when we visited it during the annual spring festival.

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A lady beetle picks up a hitchhiker, an oleander aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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The Hitchhiker

August 4th, 2015

Oleander aphids, those cartoonish-looking yellow insects with black legs and cornicles, are commonly found on oleanders. Hence their name. But they also are partial to milkweeds, the host plant of the monarch butterfly. It's a daily challenge to rid those Draculalike pests from our milkweed plants.

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A Western tiger swallowtail nectarine on a butterfly bush. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Butterfly Ballet

August 3rd, 2015

If you plant it, they will come. Western tiger swallowtails (Papilio rutulus) can't get enough of our butterfly bush. For the first time ever, we saw two of them and managed to get both in the same image.

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