Bug Squad

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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.

HONEY BEE, with tongue extended, makes a "beeline" for pink oxalis (Oxalis herta) in the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Bottoms Up

November 12, 2009

A recent visit to the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden found honey bees making a...yes...beeline...for the pink oxalis (Oxalis herta), a native of South Africa. Some folks consider oxalis, especially yellow oxalis, a "weed.

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PACKING red pollen, a honey bee glides in to gather nectar from a lavender (Lavandula), a member of the mint family. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Red November

November 11, 2009

The honey bees are hungry. There are fewer flowers blooming this time of the year, so the bees are foraging for what they can. This morning the bees were all over the lavender (Lavandula) in our yard.

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QUEEN BEE at the Bohart Museum open house was Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart and professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Pollination Nation

November 10, 2009

Pollination Nation. That's the title of a new display at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis. It's quite timely and appropriate because of the beleaguered bees.

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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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