Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay

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UC ANR is renovating its website. 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/blogcore/archive.cfm

TONGUE EXTENDED in anticipation of nectar, a honey bee heads for lavender. Using the Pavlov dog method, bees can be trained to stick out their tongue, or proboscis, when they smell explosives. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Bomb-Sniffing Bees?

December 28, 2009

The attempt to down an airline over Detroit, Mich., on Christmas Day with a chemical explosive strapped inside a passenger's underwear may spur new interest in honey bees as bomb-sniffing detectives. It brings to mind scientist Robert Wingo's recent talk at UC Davis.

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A SOLITARY HONEY BEE forages among the Christmas Cheer, also known as Knipofia "Christmas Cheer' or "red-hot poker." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Good Dose of Christmas Cheer

December 25, 2009

Definitely a good dose of Christmas Cheer! In the plant world, that would be the Kniphofia Christmas Cheer," also known as "red-hot poker." On a visit last week to the Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum, we encountered a lone honey bee foraging among the Christmas Cheer.

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BOXELDER BUG likes to overwinter in homes and garages. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Not a Creature Was Stirring?

December 24, 2009

'Twas the night before Christmas When all through the house Not a creature was stirring Not even a mouse... --'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863) No, but maybe a boxelder bug (Boisea trivittatus).

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BEEKEEPING INDUSTRY is grateful to the Rev. Lorenzo Langstroth for inventing the moveable frame honey bee hive. These hives are at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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We Owe L. L. Langstroth

December 23, 2009

When the U.S. Postal Service Citizens' Stamp Advisory Committee meets in January 2010, let's hope the group supports the proposal for a Lorenzo Langstroth commemorative stamp. The Rev.

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HONEY BEE cleaning her tongue was one of the images accepted in the international juried show, Insect Salon, affiliated with the Entomological Society of America. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Posing Prettily--and Not So Prettily

December 22, 2009

Every year the Entomological Society of America (ESA) invites its members and other interested persons to enter the Insect Salon juried photo competition. It's a highly competitive event, drawing photographs from around the world. The non-profit Peoria (Ill.) Camera Club coordinates it.

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