Category Archives: Insects

Ladies and Gentlemen…The Beetles!

Posted on January 1, 2016 by

If you look closely, you’ll see Frank. It was a tough year for the garden, and a tough year for the forest as well.  Drought-weakened trees succumbed to beetles all throughout the county, including many in my little bit of … Continue reading →

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Friendly Neighbor with Horses and a Front Loader = Sweet Pile of Manure

Posted on February 10, 2013 by

My neighbor, a horse owner and all-around nice guy, recently acquired one of those sweet Kubota tractors with the front loader attachment.  I spent part of the afternoon over in his horse yard, loading up the truck with lots of … Continue reading →

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Just a Metallic Beetle

Posted on June 11, 2012 by

Amazing.

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All These Flying Things…

Posted on June 6, 2012 by

…and a few more that wouldn’t sit still for the camera. One of my favorite things to do is to observe all of the representatives of Kingdom Animalia – the insects and reptiles and birds and amphibians and small (and … Continue reading →

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Have a Look at this Handsome Beast!

Posted on April 19, 2012 by

When I teach classes, I encourage gardeners to visit their gardens at night.  So much of the “bad” things that happen to plants – chiefly insect damage – happen at night. Just a short while ago, while wandering the garden … Continue reading →

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Of Giant Moths, Nanking Cherries and Sea Side Plums

Posted on March 14, 2012 by

Just look at this huge and handsome character!   It arrived last night, drawn to the greenhouse lights. In other news, the Nanking Cherry (Prunus tomentosa) and Beach Plum (Prunus maratima) trees arrived yesterday from Raintree Nursery (purveyors of rare and … Continue reading →

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Bees to the Rescue

Posted on March 4, 2012 by

In a prior post, I speculated that the plum blossoms would be ruined, resulting in (yet another) bad fruit year.  As I wandered the garden this morning, I was delighted by the familiar buzz of hundreds (sounding like thousands) of … Continue reading →

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UPDATE: Of Butterflies and Bulbils

Posted on September 4, 2011 by

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a picture of a beautiful butterfly sitting upon shallot bulbils.  Fellow El Dorado County MG and butterfly expert Kathy got back to me with the ID, and the winner is….. Mylitta Crescent (Phyciodes … Continue reading →

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Of Butterflies and Bulbils

Posted on August 16, 2011 by

Instead of making seeds, shallots, like some other Alliums, produce bulbils – essentially tiny little shallots – at the end of their flower stalks.  The heavy cluster of bulbils at the end of the long flower stalk will eventually fall … Continue reading →

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Aphids with Mustard

Posted on June 24, 2011 by

Every year (though usually quite a bit earlier in the season) the aphids – I like the term ‘plant lice’ – come out and congregate on various plants.  They tend to favor roses and cole crops. This morning, I noticed … Continue reading →

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