Video: In the Terroir – 2018 Last summer I participated in a trail running challenge that involved completing 15 climb “segments” at various spots throughout the Santa Monica Mountains. My process was to run/walk each climb segment to as fast as I could, then slow it down to explore what was living on the trail. I took… Continue reading Santa Monica Mountains and Conejo Open Space
Category: California Natives – Flora
Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa californica
We are the Xylocopa, more commonly known as the carpenter bee. Xylocopa is a member of the Apidae family. Our relatives include our naturalized European cousin the honey bee, Apis mellifera and the Bombus species, common name bumblebee. By the way, A. mellifera will not sting unless its life or nest is threatened. The author… Continue reading Carpenter Bee, Xylocopa californica
Woolly-Pod Milkweed: A Mantis, Monarchs, Flies and Honey Bees
The Praying Mantis Princess The first time I saw the Bordered mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, she was no more than half of an inch in length. She was resting on a fuzzy Asclepias eriocarpa leaf, common name woolly-pod milkweed. If the milkweed’s leaves were not a few shades of green darker than the mantis, I would not… Continue reading Woolly-Pod Milkweed: A Mantis, Monarchs, Flies and Honey Bees
Backyard Monarch Project: A Year Later
I am so behind on planned posts! I have a piece of digital artwork featuring the western tiger Swallowtail butterfly that I want to include in a post that discusses the Swallowtail in some detail, but I am only about halfway through the layers that I am using to create a composite image. So, I… Continue reading Backyard Monarch Project: A Year Later