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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beekeepers like to sample honey fresh from a comb. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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A Honey of a Day, a Honey of a Picnic

April 15, 2015
It promises to be a "honey of a day" and a "honey of a picnic" at the 101st annual UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 18. Lots of activities are planned campuswide, but let's focus on the bees, pollination and honey tasting.
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UC Davis professor Diane Ullman created this maggot art last year during the UC Davis Picnic Day. Maggots are dipped into non-toxic, water-based paint and allowed--or encouraged--to roam. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Just Buggin' Ya! The Good, The Bad and the Bugly

April 14, 2015
In Journalism 101, students learn that news stories need the Four Ws--who, what, when, where and why" and the H--"how come." But when it comes to UC Davis Picnic Day 101, the "101" doesn't mean inexperience.
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The flameskimmer or firecracker skimmer (Libellula saturata) perches on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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The Flameskimmers Are Back!

April 13, 2015
The flameskimmers are back! We've been waiting for the new generation of flameskimmers, aka firecracker skimmers (Libellula saturata), to visit our yard after the long winter. On Sunday, a male flameskimmer did.
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A queen bee and her retinue. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Thinking of Becoming a Commercial Beekeeper?

April 10, 2015
So you're thinking of become a commercial beekeeper and renting your colonies to almond growers. California currently grows some 900,000 acres of almonds, and each acre requires two colonies for pollination. A friend gave you some old bee boxes.
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A honey bee foraging on anemone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Love the List

April 9, 2015
Bees and other pollinators may have a tough time during the fourth year of California's severe drought, as they search for nectar and pollen. Expect to see many plants wither, wilt and die due to the "D" word, "Drought." Gov.
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