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)
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Honey bees at work in the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Professor James Nieh: Deciphering Honey Bee Communication

November 27, 2023
The fascinating world of honey bee communication! The next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar will feature professor James Nieh, a bee biologist in the Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, UC San Diego and associate dean in the Division...
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A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, rests on a cactus in Vacaville. She's the last of the season. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's Green Friday

November 24, 2023
Today is Black Friday, a day that marks the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. It's reportedly the busiest shopping day of the year. But to us, today is Green Friday, in recognition of a female green praying mantis,Stagmomantis limbata.
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A tiny monarch egg. Image taken on Nov. 14, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarchs on the Move...So Many Mysteries

November 21, 2023
Monarchs on the move...so many mysteries. Where do Western monarchs go after leaving their overwintering sites along coastal California in February? An observation: They didn't stop in the spring or summer to deposit eggs on any of our four species of milkweed in our Vacaville pollinator garden.
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