Bug Squad

If you're nurturing a passionflower vine (Passiflora), you've probably seen "The Butterfly Ballet."' The Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae), orangish-reddish butterflies with silver-spangled wings, stay close to Passiflora, their host plant. It's the circle of life.

Pity the poor honey bees. They have to contend with pesticides, parasites, pests, diseases, malnutrition, stress and that mysterious malady called colony collapse disorder in which adult bees abandon the hive, leaving behind the queen, immature bees and food stores.

Stop and smell the roses. Yes, we should all do that. We should take time out of our busy schedules to appreciate the beauty of nature, the beauty of roses, the beauty of a single yellow rose. But sometimes there's a bonus in those roses, depending on whether you like jumping spiders or honey bees.

So, you're looking for some host plants to attract butterflies, like monarchs and pipevine swallowtails? You're yearning to see monarch eggs, caterpillars and chrysalids on milkweed. Ditto for the pipevine swallowtails on their host plant, Dutchman's pipe.

Honey bees were all over the Japanese anemone (Anemone hupehensis) on Monday, Oct. 19 at the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens, Santa Rosa. They just could not get enough of the colorful flower, also known as a windflower or thimbleweed.