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.

Monarchs on the fly in a Vacaville, Calif., pollinator garden in September 2016. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Those Disappearing Western Monarchs

March 27, 2019

It's good to see butterflies, especially monarchs, getting so much press. Now let's see if we can press the issue. The Washington Post just published an article in its style section: "Butterflies Were Symbols of Rebirth.

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A pollen-laden honey bee nectaring a mustard blossom in Vacaville, Calif. this week: in between the rains! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Can't Cut the Mustard? Not Honey Bees!

March 26, 2019

The phrase "can't cut the mustard" (not able to handle the job) doesn't apply to honey bees. It's spring and honey bees are emerging en force from their hives to collect nectar and pollen to feed their colonies. The fields are awash with mustard. By the way, O.

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A fruit fly, spotted wing drosophila, on a raspberry. The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's first spring seminar is on fruit flies. Alistair McGregor of Oxford Brookes University, England, will speak. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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UC Davis Spring Seminars: from Fruit Flies to Ants to Spider Glue and More!

March 25, 2019

Medical entomologist Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor of entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, has lined up the department's spring seminars for the spring quarter, and what a line-up it is! They range in topics from fruit flies to spider glue to an African odysssey.

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An amazing image of a leafcutter bee carrying a leaf segment back to her nest. This image, used with permission, is by Donna Sanders of Emerald, Queensland, Australia.

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The Most Incredible Image of a Leafcutter Bee

March 22, 2019

It's one of the most beautiful, incredible images of a leafcutter bee we've ever seen.

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Gardening tools for youngsters at the UC Davis Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, located on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus. A Junior Bee Gardeners' Day is set from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 30. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Haven Is the Place to 'Bee' for Junior Gardeners on March 30

March 21, 2019

The Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven is the place to "bee" on Saturday, March 30 for youngsters who want to learn more about honey bees and native bees. The bee haven, operated and maintained by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is sponsoring a Junior Bee Gardeners' Day from 9 a.m.

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