From the UC Blogosphere...

Summertime...and the Livin' Is Easy

Today's the Fourth of July and folks are splashing in their pools. So, what happens when a bee falls in? Sometimes they...

Summertime...and the living is easy...A female sweat bee, genus Halictus, floats on a leaf in a swimming pool. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Summertime...and the living is easy...A female sweat bee, genus Halictus, floats on a leaf in a swimming pool. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Caution: Toxic!

It was a reddish-orange beetle, moving a little but not a lot. We spotted it on a sunflower bordering the Avant Garden in...

Meloid blister beetle, which produces a toxin known as cantharidin, peers at the camera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Meloid blister beetle, which produces a toxin known as cantharidin, peers at the camera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Meloid blister beetle foraging on a sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Meloid blister beetle foraging on a sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Green-Eyed Gal

We saw her touch down in our nectarine tree last weekend. Big green compound eyes glowed at us. She moved up and down a...

Green-eyed wasp, genus Tachytes, in a nectarine tree. This one is a female, as identified by Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Green-eyed wasp, genus Tachytes, in a nectarine tree. This one is a female, as identified by Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Green-eyed wasp, Tachytes sp., foraging on a nectarine tree. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Green-eyed wasp, Tachytes sp., foraging on a nectarine tree. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A little somersault by a green-eyed wasp, genus Tachytes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A little somersault by a green-eyed wasp, genus Tachytes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pray Thee Well

When I last met up with a pipevine swallowtail, it wasn't faring well. In fact, I didn't recognize it as a pipevine...

Pipevine swallowtail visiting the Storer Garden, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pipevine swallowtail visiting the Storer Garden, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Praying mantis devouring a pipevine swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Praying mantis devouring a pipevine swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Training for the Olympics?

Training for the Olympics? If you step into your garden in the early morning, you might see a male bumble bee sleeping on...

Male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, appears to be doing a chin up. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, appears to be doing a chin up. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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