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.

A cabbage white butterlfy, Pieris rapae, heads for lantana in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Spotting the Cabbage White Butterfly

October 15, 2018

They're everywhere. But they're not welcome. Agriculturists who commercially grow cabbage and other cucurbits aren't fond of the cabbage white butterlfy, Pieris rapae, because its larvae are pests that ravish their crops. No welcome mat for them.

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This winning image of a wasp mimic, Ceriana tridens, ovipositing in the fissures of a tree, will be showcased at the Entomological Society of America meeting in November in Vancouver,B.C. (Photo by Alexander Nguyen)

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International Exposure for Three UC Davis-Affiliated Photographers

October 15, 2018

Images by three UC Davis-affiliated photographers will be among those displayed at the international Insect Salon photography competition at the Entomological Society of America's meeting, Nov. 11-14 in Vancouver, B.C.

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Butterflies showing mutated wings on their right sides. This image was used in one of Arnaud Martin's research publications. (Credit: Nathalie Vessillier)

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Oct. 19th Seminar at UC Davis: Do Butterflies Dream of Genetic Tattoos?

October 12, 2018

Do butterflies dream of genetic tattoos? That's part of the creative title of a seminar that Arnaud Martin, assistant professor of biology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, will deliver next week to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

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Honey bees, the most important pollinators, also produce honey. This image was taken at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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'Honey, I Hardly Know Ya!' The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center Can Change That!

October 11, 2018

"Honey, I hardly know ya!" The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center can change that! Want to learn more about the product that honey bees make? The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center is offering a Sensory Evaluation of Honey Certificate Course, Oct.

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Green darner dragonfly, Anax junius, in Benicia State Historical Park. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Find the Green Darner

October 10, 2018

Find the green darner. Trying to spot the green darner dragonfly, Anax junius--so named because of its resemblance to a darning needle--is like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. But there it was, camouflaged in shrubbery on Sept. 23 in the Benicia Capitol State Historical Park.

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