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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SYRPHID or flower fly aims for a cactus blossom. A high shutter speed slows the wing action. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Patience in the Garden

May 15, 2009
Patience. That's what it takes to capture images of syrphids, aka flower or hover flies. They are oh, so tiny and they move oh, so quickly. As the morning dawns, you wait, camera poised, near their preferred blossoms.
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FLYING IN--A syrphid or flower fly heads for a newly opened cactus blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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If It Looks Like a Duck....

May 14, 2009
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck. If it looks like a bee, buzzes like a bee, and visits flowers like a bee, it might not be a bee. It could be a fly, or more specifically, a syrphid or flower fly.
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A male carpenter bee (Xylocopa tabaniformis) nectars on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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On Gossamer Wings

May 12, 2009
"Gossamer" means something sheer, light and delicate, as in gossamer fabric. You can also apply it to the wings of a carpenter bee. We captured this image of a male carpenter bee (Xylocopa tabaniformis) nectaring on lavender. The wings look sheer, fragile and airy.
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NEWBORN BEE: What's in store for this newborn bee and her family? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Honey Bees: 'Are Things Really That Bad?

May 11, 2009
You wont want to miss the seminar on Bee Problems and Colony Losses on Wednesday, May 13 in 122 Briggs Hall, UC Davis. If you cant make it in person, you can listen to it live via Webinar.
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