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

THIS HONEY BEE, on a lavender blossom, appears to "wave." She's actually ready for take-off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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"R" is for Research

November 9, 2009

"R" is for research at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Faciity at the University of California, Davis. What's it all about? The Laidlaw facility is a nexus for diverse bee research and scientists from throughout the world.

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HONEY BEE heads for catmint, a favorite of insect pollinators. The plant (genus Nepeta) is a member of the mint family or Lamiaceae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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The A's, Bees and C's....

November 6, 2009

In an aging queen bee, does age affect the quality of her offspring? Why do some bees leave the hive and never return?

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A HONEY BEE and a sweat bee share the same flower, a rock purslane. The sweat bee is probably Halictus tripartitus, according to native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Two Bees, Two Sizes

November 5, 2009

When a sweat bee and a honey bee share the same flower, the size difference is quite distinct. We took this photo of a honey bee on a rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora) blossom.

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GOLDEN ONE--A honey bee, a social insect, nectars lavender. From Nov. 5-11, Häagen-Dazs will donate $1 per Tweet (up to $500 a day) Nov. 5-11 for honey bee research at UC Davis through social networking on www.twitcause.com. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Helping Honey Bee Research

November 4, 2009

Bees buzz. People "Tweet." Well, many people do. It's generous of the Hagen-Dazs brand to donate $1 per Tweet (up to $500 per day) from Nov. 5 through Nov. 11 to support honey bee research at the University of California, Davis.

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HOVER FLY lands on red buckwheat (Eriogonum grande rubescens) and sips nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Seeing Red--On Buckwheat

November 3, 2009

Butterflies, honey bees and hover flies can't get enough of red buckwheat. Tight clusters of pink blossoms, coupled with gray-green foliage, grace red buckwheat (Eriogonum grande rubescens), a California native. It's good for the insects and good for the gardener. It's drought-tolerant.

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