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 long-horned male bee, Melissodes robustior, on the leaf of a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey
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Where the Bees Are

November 12, 2014
Take a photo of a bee--any bee--and then look it up in the newly published California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday).
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A syrphid fly, aka hover fly or flower fly, on an Iceland Poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Matadors in the Champagne Bubbles

November 11, 2014
It's cool how honey bees and syrphid flies gravitate toward the Iceland Poppy. It's a winter plant, and frankly, there isn't much to eat out there. The Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule), a bowl-shaped, papery flower, fills the bill. The name is a misnomer. It's not native to Iceland.
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Flavored meal worms were first on the menu. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey
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You Can Make a Meal Out of Mealworms

November 10, 2014
You can make a meal out of mealworms. It's cricket to eat Cambodian crickets. And who wouldn't want a plate of teriyaki grasshopper kebobs paired with Rubicon Angus Scottish Ale? "Don't worry, be hoppy," said celebrity bug chef David George Gordon, author of the award-winning Eat-a-Bug cookbook.
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Porch lights attract predators and prey, including this predator, a praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Why You Should Not Clean Your Porch Light Fixtures

November 6, 2014
Here's a good reason why you should not clean the fixtures around your porch lights--if you need a reason. The lights attract all kinds of nocturnal flying insects. It's like the proverbial draw of a moth to a flame. Spiders weave their webs on the light fixtures to trap their prey.
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