July 10th: At least two of the eggs hatched (I can’t find the others). That was about four days as an egg, since it was laid on July 6th. No time to waste! July 20th: One caterpillar is dead, but others have molted from their black and white form into gleaming green and black beauties.Continue reading “Swallowtail updates”
Category Archives: Ecology
Swallowtails!
Our first Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) arrived in the garden today. We’ve had Western Tiger Swallowtails flit through from time to time, but the Anise Swallowtail is here to start a family, not just pass by. This species feeds on plants in the carrot family, and is one of the reasons that we planted fennelContinue reading “Swallowtails!”
Native plants, native bees. Alien plants, alien bees
You might think that bees think like this: see nectar, drink nectar. Find pollen, collect pollen. Simple, but incorrect. It’s more like European bees have European tastes and native bees have native tastes. Our familiar honeybees originated in Europe. They generally like European flowers: thyme, rosemary, lavender, mint, oregano, stone fruit and apple blossoms. YarrowContinue reading “Native plants, native bees. Alien plants, alien bees”
It’s bug eat bug out there!
As we were eating some strawberries, a ferocious creature crawled out of the bowl, it’s wickedly fanged head moving back and forth as its spiny body moved forward. Luckily, it’s a very small ferocious creature or I’d have been its lunch. The creature, an aphid lion, is the larval form of a lacewing, a fairylikeContinue reading “It’s bug eat bug out there!”
How hummingbirds start their day
Photos of hummingbirds bathing early in the morning
Ladybug, ladybug
A bit of information on ladybugs and ladybug larvae, your allies to control aphids.
Hey! They told me this was a BIRD house!
This birdhouse is one of the finishing touches on the garden. It’s not really placed to attract nesting birds; it’s too low and too close to the path. So, the reasoning was that it would just be another piece of garden art, occupied by spiders. The day after installation, I noticed something fly out ofContinue reading “Hey! They told me this was a BIRD house!”