Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay

Looking for a specific Blog post?

UC ANR is renovating its website. 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/blogcore/archive.cfm

A frame of healthy bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Article

Beekeeper from Pioneering Family to Address UC Davis Honey Adulteration Symposium

April 13, 2021

Imagine being a dedicated beekeeper with a family business dating back to 1894. That's 127 years of working with the bees. Master Beekeeper Jason Miller of Miller Honey Farms, Inc. of Newcastle, Calif.

View Article

Gathering in the hotel Onsen Ryokan (from left) the late Wittko Francke, the late Professor Kenji Moro of Tokyo University, Francke's widow, Heidi; and Mori's widow, Keiko. Kenji Mori was another giant in chemical ecology who passed away April 16, 2019. (Screenshot from April 3rd celebration of Life and Legacy of Wittko Francke)

Article

Global Symposium: Chemical Ecologists Celebrate 'Life and Legacy of Wittko Francke'

April 12, 2021

He was a giant in the field of chemical ecology but he was much more than that.

View Article

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.

View Article

An illustration from Priya Rajarapu's seminar: Top image, Emerald ash borer; lower left, a black-faced leafhopper; and at right, thrips.

Article

Priya Rajarapu: 'Insect-Plant Molecular Interactions: Stories from Invasive Insects to Disease Vectors'

April 8, 2021

April showers bring June flowers, but spring also brings seminars about insects.

View Article

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.

View Article