Bug Squad

The Sting. (c) Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A spider executes Plan Bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

This Spider Went for Plan Bee

September 3, 2021
The spider failed to snag a butterfly, so it went for Plan Bee. That would be the honey bee, Apis mellifera. The bee is usually foraging for nectar and pollen and not that aware of her surroundings, especially a cunning and very hungry spider.
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A lady beetle, aka ladybug, munches on an aphid, as another aphid looks as if it's waiting its turn to be eaten. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

All Hail the Lady Beetles!

September 1, 2021
Step right up, folks! I'm a lady beetle, aka ladybug, and it's lunch time. Or maybe it's snack time, I don't know. I don't talk when my mouth is full. What I do know is this: aphids are tasty and they line up to be eaten.
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