Insect Extravaganza - June 2025

Some insect activities in my garden. 

Female Widow Skimmer Dragonfly 

It was early morning, and I discovered her clinging to a weed I was going to pull out. 

A Sleeping Bumblebee

Bees don't fly if the temperatures get 50° or below.  They will find a flower and wait until morning. It can be 18° higher close to a nectar source! 

Waking Up 

It looks like the first thing it did was eat!

Western Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly in Sweet William

A California Carpenter Bee Nectar Robbing

Some bees are too big, or their tongues too short, to gather nectar from flowers too narrow get into.  They chew a hole at the base of the flower to get to the nectar.

The problem with this is, no pollination takes place.  Honeybees are exhibiting secondary nectar robbing.  It's seen more in bees with greater wing wear than those with less experience, suggesting it's a learned behavior. 

Videos of bees and wasps in butterfly weed and milkweed were shared last weekend. 

I hate to use a pun, but the insects really do keep thing buzzing in the garden! 🐝🐝      🐝