Today was a good day for birds in the garden. Hummingbirds buzzed around, catching insects on the wing, then stopped by their favorite flowers for a sip of nectar. Scrub jays sipped from the fountain, mockingbirds flitted through the branches, a black phoebe paused in the tree and two bewick’s wrens chased each other acrossContinue reading “Birds!”
Tag Archives: insects
The incredible flying circus
The Aster chilensis is blooming, and it’s the biggest insect party of the year. The plants are covered with skippers, with frequent visits by mason bees and other creatures. Despite its Latin name implying South American origins, it’s a California native – but from the Southern part. It’s common name, California aster, makes its originsContinue reading “The incredible flying circus”
Scary Monsters!
This is not, strictly speaking, a tomato worm. It’s the larva of Manduca sexta, the dreaded Tobacco Hornworm. Nor is it a worm. It’s a larval insect that could more properly be termed a caterpillar if not for the image of caterpillars being cute and worms being ugly. Anything capable of stripping the leaves ofContinue reading “Scary Monsters!”
Honey, I saw a spider!
You make sure there are no pesticides, poisons or toxic substances in your garden. Your vegetables are organic. You’ve created a wonderful oasis of nature… then you look next door. There’s a Poison Man spraying who knows what all over their house. I imagine it’s to kill a spider or two. Impossible to talk toContinue reading “Honey, I saw a spider!”
Jumping, lynxes and crabs? Pouncing spiders!
Sacramento is a great place for spiders that hang out on flowers instead of messing around with webs. We have jumping spiders, lynx spiders and crab spiders. Jumping spiders are the most active and have large eyes for spotting prey. Lynx spiders and crab spiders lie in wait for their prey to come to them.Continue reading “Jumping, lynxes and crabs? Pouncing spiders!”
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!”
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!”