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.

Two cabbage white butterflies, Pieris rapae, flutter over catmint in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Suds for a Bug? How You Can Exchange a Butterfly for a Pitcher of Beer!

December 27, 2018

Yes, it's true. You can exchange suds for a bug. That would be a cabbage white butterfly for a pitcher of beer or its equivalent. And it's all in the interest of science.

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A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, heading toward California poppy,Eschscholzia californica. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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The Big 43: The California Native Plants, Plus One, Studied in UC Davis Research

December 25, 2018

When pollination ecologists from the Neal Williams lab at the University of California Davis--Ola Lundin, Kimiora Ward and Professor Williams--recently published their research in the Journal of Applied Ecology on "Identifying Native Plants for Coordinated Habitat Management of Arthropod Pollinators...

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A honey bee heads toward a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Merry Buzzworthy Christmas!

December 25, 2018

Feeling the buzz on Christmas Day? Bugs on your Christmas tree? You may have overlooked another "present": eggs of the invasive spotted landernfly may be on your tree.

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A monarch chrysalis hangs like an ornament. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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'Twas the Night Before Chrysalis...

December 24, 2018

'Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse --Clement Clarke Moore We never tire of hearing that immortal poem, but this year let's offer another version: 'Twas the night before chrysalis when all through the land Not a monarch was stirri...

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A honey bee colony at work. Extension apiculturist Elina Niño will discuss three topics dealing with "Beekeeping and Management" at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine's 2019 winter conference. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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'Beekeeping and Management' Part of UC Davis Veterinary Medicine's Winter Conference

December 21, 2018

Mark your calendar! "Beekeeping and Management" will be part of the two-day UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine's 2019 winter conference presented by its Center for Continuing Education in February 2019.

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