Bug Squad

The Sting. (c) Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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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 honey bee foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Learn How to Make Mead at UC Davis

August 19, 2015
Like to learn how to make mead? You know, transform honey into honey wine? The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute and the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology are offering a beginners' introduction to mead making on Friday and Saturday, Nov.
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A camouflaged katydid, its body resembling a leaf, feeds on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Katy Did, Katy Didn't!

August 18, 2015
I've always rather liked katydids. Anyone who is called "Kate" or "Katy" in their childhood usually winds up with "Katydid" as a nickname. And they repeatedly hear "Katy did. Katy didn't" (the sound the insect makes).
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A praying mantis perches on a blanketflower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Prey for Me

August 17, 2015
Whenever folks post photos of praying mantids, their readers expect to see prey. You know, the hapless bee or butterfly that made the fatal mistake of getting too close to those spiked forelegs. This praying mantis (below) appeared to have been a hapless victim of another predator.
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A male tule bluet on a fading Mexican sunflower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Blue as Blue Can Be

August 13, 2015
They look like shiny blue and black needles. Make that "flying" shiny blue and black needles. We spotted this damselfly foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) this week in our family bee garden. The blue was breathtaking.
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