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 gray hairstreak butterfly, Strymon melinus, on fava beans. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

A Gray Streak on the Fava Beans

April 9, 2021
Seen any gray hairstreaks, lately? No, not on someone's head. This is the butterfly, Strymon melinus, from the Lycaenidae family, known as the gossamer-winged butterflies. It's an ashy gray butterfly with a white border.
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A honey bee takes a break and cleans her proboscis (tongue) after foraging on a citrus blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Cleaning the Tongue: A, B, C

April 7, 2021
So here you are, a honey bee seeking nectar from an unopened citrus blossom. And then your tongue (proboscis) becomes all sticky with pollen, nectar and other particles. What to do: you, the worker bee, take a brief break and clean your tongue. Problem solved.
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Around 6 p.m., April 1, the bee swarm at the Starner home looked like this. (Photo by the Craig and Shelly Hunt family)
Article

The Bees-Ness of the Bees

April 5, 2021
The bee swarm touched down April 1, settling near the wind chimes on her patio roof. "I saw the swarm when I looked out the window," said Vacaville resident Lynn Starner. She watched dozens of bees buzzing toward the cluster.
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