Bug Squad

A daily (M-F) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008 and about the wonderful world of insects and those who study them. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, foraging on a zinnia in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gulf Fritillaries Doing Well

April 1, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, is definitely back from a comeback, at least in the Sacramento, Davis and Vacaville-Fairfield areas.
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Don’t Miss This Seminar on Pesticides and Honey Bees

March 29, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Noted bee scientist Jamie Ellis, a University of Florida professor, will speak on "Understanding the Risks that Pesticides Pose to Honey Bees" at a UC Davis seminar at 4:10 p.m., Monday, April 1. This is a zoom seminar.
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The lagoon fly is a syrphid fly, Eristalinus aeneus. This one is foraging on Virginia stock (Malcolmia maritima), in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey).

Lagoon Fly: Seeing Spots

March 27, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ever seen a lagoon fly? It's a syrphid fly, Eristalinus aeneus, distinguished by small black spots patterning its eyes. Syrphids, also known hoverflies or flower flies, hover over a flower before foraging. They're pollinators.
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An egg case or ootheca of a praying mantis. Mama, a Stagmomantis limbata, deposited it on a redbud tree.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ootheca! Ootheca! Ootheca!

March 26, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you've been pruning bushes or trees, check to see if a praying mantis egg case (ootheca) is attached to a limb. If you do, you're in luck! A mantis deposits her egg case in late summer or fall, and usually on twigs, stems, a wooden stake or fence slat, but sometimes even on a clothespin.
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