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, loaded with pollen, heads for Kniphofia "Christmas Cheer." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey
Article

Looking for Bee Plants?

May 16, 2014
If you're thinking about adding more bee friendly plants to your garden but you're concerned about the drought, the UC Davis Arboretum has the answers. The arboretum will host its public spring clearance plant sale on Saturday, May 17, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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A Valley carpenter bee receives a brush of pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Pollen Power

May 15, 2014
Female Valley carpenter bees are solid black--except when they're foraging around passion flowers. Then they're black and yellow--the yellow being the color of the pollen transferred to their thorax. Beautiful? Absolutely.
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A bee ballet over a Matilija poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Bee Ballet Over Matilija Poppy

May 13, 2014
Whenever you look at the Matilija poppy, you think of a fried egg. White, crepelike flowers (the egg whites) circle a cluster of gold stamens (the yolk).
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Gulf Fritillary touches down on a blanket flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Made for Each Other

May 12, 2014
What a perfect match when a Gulf Fritillary butterfly touches down on a blanket flower. They're both reddish-orange and showy. Last weekend we spotted a Gulf Fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) land momentarily on a blanket flower (Gaillardia), in our bee garden.
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