Monarchs are emerging every day now
We are still busy raising the monarch caterpillars. Most of the group are now in chrysalis mode. And we seem to be releasing one or two...
Female Carpenter Bee and the Indigo Spires Salvia
The Carpenter Bees Xylocopa varipuncta really are attracted to the Indigo Spires salvia blossoms. Indigo Spires salvia produces nectar,...
The tentative female monarch butterfly
When we released a male monarch butterfly last week, a female had eclosed that morning. In the afternoon, when it was sunny and warm, it...
Yellow-faced Bumble Bee in the Native Patch
Oh how busy these yellow-faced bumble bees Bombus vosnesenskii are in the garden. And also very determined. The one in the image above is...
More Monarch Caterpillar Fun
We currently have in the monarch caterpillar hampers fourteen chrysalides, eleven in "j" positionand twelve caterpillars. We released one...
Sleeping Bees in the Native Patch
It was such a delight to discover sleeping bees around our mostly California garden patch this morning. Seeing these bees at rest on...
Umber Skipper and the Borage leaf
Oh how the umber skippers Poanes melane love to rest on the borage leaves. I recently purchased two borage plants because the borage we...
Longhorn Bee on Cosmic Evolution Coreopsis
This month we seem to have a lot of Longhorn Bee visitors in our mostly California native garden. Based on the regular thick bands on the...
Sleeping Summer Longhorn Bee
This male Summer Longhorn Bee Eucera , part of the Apidae group, slept in the same Cosmos bipinnatus 'Cupcakes White' blossom for several...
Life with the monarch caterpillars
Oh those funny caterpillars. These three are enjoying the buds of milkweed flowers. They must be so delicious! I know this may sound...
