Bug Squad

The Bug Squad blog, by Kathy Keatley Garvey of the University of California, Davis, is a daily (Monday-Friday) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008. It is about the wonderful world of insects and the entomologists who study them. Blog posts are archived at https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/index.cfm. The story behind "The Sting" is here: https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7735.

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Leaving...

June 15, 2023

It's 3:47 p.m., on Sunday, June 4. I am watching a honey bee nectaring on a zinnia in our pollinator garden. She collects, lingers and then leaves. It was like (A) Apis mellifera to (Z) zinnia.

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A clerk at McCormack Hall, Solano County Fair, displays two junior division photos: one of a honey bee by Jesse Means of Dixon, and the other of a orange-tip butterfly by Regan Van Tuyl of Dixon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Solano County Fair, June 15-18: Bees, Butterflies and More

June 14, 2023

You might not expect to see Anthocharis sara sara in McCormack Hall during the 74th annual Solano County Fair, Vallejo, June 15-18. But you will. It's a photograph titled "Painted Wings" by Regan Van Tuyl, 13 of Dixon.

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Maojun Jin served as a visiting scholar in the Bruce Hammock lab from September 2019 to September 2020. Here he is with his family at UC Davis.

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Pesticide Research: Paper of the Month

June 13, 2023

Trace detection of such organophosphates as triazophos, parathion, and chlorpyrifos is extremely important for various reasons, including food safety, environmental monitoring, and national health, a team of scientists, including UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock pointed out last week,...

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Scene from a recent Bohart Museum of Entomology Moth Night. The portrait is of UC Davis entomologist Richard Bohart, for whom the Bohart Museum is named. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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A Night at the Bohart Museum: Moth Night on Saturday, July 22

June 12, 2023

Mark your calendar! The next open house at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, themed "Night at the Museum" (Moth Night), is from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 22. It's free and family friendly. Parking is also free.

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Maggot Art at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. Tools of the trade: maggots, water-based and non-toxic paint, paint containers, forceps, and white paper. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Bohart Museum of Entomology Open House: Magnificent Maggot Art!

June 9, 2023

Ever created Maggot Art? You pick up a maggot with a forceps, dip it into a non-toxic, water-based paint, drop it (gently) on a white paper, and let it crawl around, or guide it. Voila! Maggot Art! It's a conversation piece. It's suitable for framing.

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