Bug Squad

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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.

In many parts of Davis, mistletoe is missing. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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The Missing Mistletoe and the Non-Purple Great Purple Hairstreak Butterfly

January 1, 2025

You may not recognize mistletoe unless it sports a red bow and is hanging over a doorway during the holiday season. You may not recognize The Great Purple Hairstreak, Atlides halesus. Its host plant is mistletoe. (Color-cognizant folks who are fond of purple won't recognize it, either.

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A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, nectaring on a California golden poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Who Will Find and Photograph the First Bumble Bee of the Year?

December 31, 2024

Who will find and photograph the first bumble bee of the year in Yolo and Solano counties and win the fifth annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest? In 2024, Fairfield resident Nancy Hansen won the contest with a video of B.

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Close-up of seeds in an unripened strawberry. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Dylan Beal: Applying Entomology Research in a Cooperative Extension Context

December 30, 2024

How do entomologists apply research in a Cooperative Extension program?

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Samantha Murray, the newly selected garden coordinator of the UC Davis Bee Haven, tending bees.

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Samantha Murray: For the Love of Bees and the Love of Music

December 27, 2024

Hearing a queen bee piping is music to her ears. So is the shimmering sound of the harp.

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As pre-teens, Cole Cramer (left) and Connor Hsu met at a UC Davis Bio Boot Camp.

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Cole and Connor: Connecting with Insects

December 26, 2024

The annual UC Davis Bio Boot Camps not only connect youths with nature, but with each other. Meet Cole Cramer, and Connor Hsu, both 15, and both students at La Canada High School, La Caada Flintridge, Calif.

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