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LinkedInPosts Tagged: monarch butterfly
A Bigeyed Bug and a Monarch Butterfly
You've heard folks call insects "big 'ol bugs" (often in astonishment or terror), right? But have you ever seen a "bigeyed bug on a monarch butterfly?" Bigeyed bugs, Geocoris spp., are beneficial insects, "found mostly on low-growing plants, including many field and row crops...
A bigeyed bug on the wing of a monarch butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch vs. Honey Bee: 'Nectar for Me, None for You'
The monarch migration is well underway. The iconic butterflies fluttering into California from the Pacific Northwest engage in "nectar stops" to fuel their flight to their overwintering sites along coastal California. They are not the only ones seeking nectar. Monarch: "Sweet! Look what I...
A migrating monarch butterfly finds nectar in a zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee wants nectar, too. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey bee buzzes the wings of the monarch hoping it will leave. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The monarch takes the hint. A bee wants that nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis Professor Louie Yang: On Conserving the Western Monarch Population
"Recent studies have continued to shed light on the ecology of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) in western North America. These studies have documented a declining overwintering population over several decades, punctuated by unexpected variability in recent years. Understanding this...
A monarch leaving a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. This image was taken in a pollinator garden in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Why the Petunia Patch Reigned Supreme Today
All year long, we've been waiting for those majestic monarchs to visit our pollinator garden in Vacaville, as they have in the past 10 years or so. One year (2020), they deposited more than 300 eggs on our milkweed. But this year? Zero. Zilch. Nada. Where are you? Dawn. Noon....
Find the monarch! A monarch stopped to nectar in a Mexican petunia patch Sept. 15 in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Zooming in, you can see the iconic monarch nectaring on a Mexican petunia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
International Insect Salon: From 'Bugs Love' to 'Syrphid Feeding' to 'Monarch Laying Eggs'
If you attended the Entomological Society of America's 2021 meeting last week in Denver, you probably saw a monarch laying eggs. That is, you saw a photograph of a Danaus plexippus ovipositing. The image, by Joe Virbickis of Washington, Ill., won a medal at International...
This image, "Monarch Laying Eggs," by Joe Virbickis of Washington, Ill., won the medal for "Best by Peoria Camera Club Member." (Copyright Joe Virbickis)
Best of Show went to Marcus Kam of Malaysia for this image, "Bugs Love." (Copyright Marcus Kam)
Entomologist Tom Myers won "Best by ESA Member" for this image of a syrphid fly. (Copyright Tom Myers)
One of the California-based images accepted in the 2021 international Insect Salon was this one by ESA member Kathy Keatley Garvey, of Gulf Fritillaries "Keeping Busy." (Copyright Kathy Keatley Garvey)
