Bug Squad

Western yellowjackets, nicknamed "meat bees" (as opposed to the "vegetarian honey bees") are often misidentified. A recent visitor at a camp in the Sierra Nevada mountain range witnessed a large number of wasps and stinging behavior.

Extra, extra, read all about it! This "extra" has nothing to do with a special edition of a newspaper. This "extra" deals with something that may puzzle you. This "extra" refers to the passionflower vine (Passiflora), the host plant of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae).

You may not like spiders. You may have Arachnophobia, a fear of spiders, or maybe you just dislike all spiders. But still, some spiders are spectacular. Stunning. Striking. Take the redfemured spotted orbweaver, Neoscona domiciliorum.

When you're capturing images of butterflies, seconds count. They're unpredictable. They move from fluttering to fleeting. And just when you're focused on where they are, they aren't there anymore.

So here's this cute little reddish/orangish caterpillar munching away on a passionflower vine. It's Sunday and he's having Sunday dinner--after having Sunday breakfast and lunch and snacks in between, thank you. He's on his way to becoming a Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) butterfly.