Plant to feed insects
Exactly. Once upon a time we all thought that insects were threatening because they eat plants. But now more and more people are...
Monarch activity in the garden
In past years I posted often about the development of monarch butterfly caterpillars feeding on our milkweed plants. Since we are...
Skipper Weather
Although the air quality varies day by day, hour by hour, due to smoky air from the Northern California fires, it isn't terrible compared...
Buckwheat
Now that many plants are slowly going dormant, much of the native patch looks drab in shades of tan. But just look at the buckwheat. From...
Common Checkered Skippers in the Morning
It's already a treat to discover a Common Checkered Skippers Pyrgus communis resting in the morning, but to see two of them perched in...
Saving the Monarchs
Monarch butterfly on a flowerhead of our Seacliff Buckwheat Eriogonum parvifolium plant. A plan called Monarch Head Start has now...
Monarch caterpillars still munching on our milkweed
We are trying hard to help the monarch population by growing some native milkweed plants in large pots around our patio. And my main...
Sleeping Summer Long-horned bees
Ooh, here they are! Summer Long-horned bees Melissodes robustior (Apidae) sleeping in a California Delta sunflower. Note how the one on...
Summer Long-Horned Bee on California Delta Sunflower
This bee, a Summer Long-Horned male Melissodes robustior (Apidae), is one of the main reasons why I plant California Delta sunflowers...
A Checkered White
I've never seen a Checkered White butterfly Pontia protodice before. It was visiting our native patch a few days ago. At first I thought...
