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LinkedInPosts Tagged: cactus
It's Friday Fly Day: How About a Mexican Cactus Fly?
It's Friday Fly Day, when folks post images of flies. Flies seem to the entomological equivalent of Rodney Dangerfield's "I-don't-get-no-respect" quote. So how about a black syrphid fly, a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, nectaring on a Mexican...
A black syrphid fly, a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, foraging on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's Green Friday
Today is Black Friday, a day that marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It's reportedly the busiest shopping day of the year. But to us, today is Green Friday, in recognition of a female green praying mantis,Stagmomantis limbata.occupying a rib of a tall green cactus in...
A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, rests on a cactus in Vacaville. She's the last of the season. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
To Catch a Cabbage White...On a Wing and a Prayer
To catch a cabbage white butterfly... It was early October and a gravid praying mantis, almost ready to deposit her ootheca, was hungry. She crawled behind a cactus in our yard, waiting for prey. It did not take long. A cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, fluttered down and made the...
Praying mantis: "I'm hungry! What's to eat?" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "I shall stretch and offer up a prayer that dinner will arrive." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "My prayers are answered. Is that what I think it is? Dinner?" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "I shall eat everything but the wings." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "I'm not finished yet." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis: "My future offspring will appreciate the protein." This mantis is a Stagmomantis limbata, as identified by Lohit Garikipati, a UC Davis alumnus studying for his master's degree at Towson University, Towson, Md. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Behold: A Mexican Cactus Fly on a Mexican Sunflower
It's not often you see a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. At first glance, you may think the insect is a carpenter bee or bumble bee. Then you see it hovering. Then you see its head. Then you see its...
"Aah, nectar!" A Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Here's looking at you!" A Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, sips nectar from a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia, in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"My territory!" says a dive-bombing male longhorned bee, a Melissodes agilis, as it targets the Mexican cactus fly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Coming at ya!" A Mexican cactus fly sails over a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey
The wings of the Mexican cactus flower glisten in the morning sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Predator and the Pest
So here's this praying mantis perched on top of a prickly pear cactus. It's early morning and she's hungry. A cabbage white butterfly, looking like a white-gowned princess in a medieval palace, flutters by and pauses on the prickly pear to seek some sunshine. Oops! Fatal mistake. When you're...
Breakfast! A hungry praying mantis eyes a cabbage white butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
With a lightning strike, the praying mantis grasps the cabbage white butterfly with its spiked forelegs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Holding it up like a trophy, the praying mantis begins to eat. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis concentrates on breakfast. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Finished! Breakfast is over. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
