Every once in a while you see it. And it's a real treat--especially when it's a bee garden that's synonomous with treat. We tracked the black-faced bumble bee (Bombus californicus) in the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly demonstration garden at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

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Flame skimmer perched on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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How to Tame Your Dragonfly

July 21st, 2011

For at least three days, he visited our yard. He swooped over our fish pond and swimming pool and returned each time to perch on a tomato stake in the vegetable garden. We nicknamed him "Big Red." Big Red? Actually, a flame skimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata), native to western North America.

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Monarch butterfly cutout in front of the Insect Pavilion at the Caifornia State Fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Bugs Rule at the California State Fair

July 20th, 2011

If you head over to the California State Fair, which opened July 14 and continues through July 31, be sure to check out the Insect Pavilion at "The Farm." It's a treasure house of not only insects, but spiders and assorted other critters.

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Damselfly's compound eyes don't miss much. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Blue Dancers

July 19th, 2011

Blue damselflies should be on "Dancing with Stars." Because, in many respects, they ARE the stars--the stars of the insect world. They're slender, delicate and beautiful dancers that look like blue-stick diamonds.

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Spotted cucumber beetle sharing a sunflower with two honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Two's Company, Three's a Crowd

July 18th, 2011

Two's company, three's a crowd? Yes, when a spotted cucumber beetle tries to share a sunflower with two honey bees. That was the scene Sunday in a sunflower field along Pedrick Road, Dixon, Solano County. The spotted cucumber beetle is a pest. Honey bees are beneficial.

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