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)

A tiny monarch egg, about the size of a pin head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Food for Thought and Food for the Monarchs

November 3, 2023

Is tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, a "bad" plant? Should Californians pull it from their gardens? No, say many scientists, including Hugh Dingle, professor emeritus of entomology, behavior and evolution at UC Davis. Professor Dingle is an internationally known expert on animal migration.

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A monarch caterpillar chomping on showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, in a Vacavile garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotta Love Those Monarch 'Cats

November 2, 2023

Did you celebrate National Cat Day on Oct. 29? We haven't had a cat since our 16-year-old tuxedo, Xena the Warrior Princess crossed the Rainbow Bridge in March of 2016. She sported a butterflylike marking on her left leg. Monarch butterflies fascinated her.

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A female monarch butterfly sipping nectar from a tropical milkweed on Wednesday, Nov. 1 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarchs on the Move: A Migration and a Bohart Museum Open House

November 1, 2023

It's Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 1 and a female monarch butterfly flutters into our Vacaville pollinator garden. Me: "Welcome Ms. Monarch! Aren't you a little late for the migration?" Ms. Monarch: "No, I'm just a late bloomer,. so to speak.

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UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey (center), director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, thanks UC Davis biology lab manager and UC Davis alumna Ivana Li (far left), who catered the party. Also pictured (from left) Professor Fran Keller of Folsom Lake College, postdoctoral researcher Severyn Korneyev and his wife, artist Kristina Kernytska, UC Davis alumna Brittany Kohler and Tabatha Yang, Bohart education and outreach coordinator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

No Predation at Bohart Museum of Entomology's Pre-Halloween Party

October 31, 2023

If you attended the Bohart Museum of Entomology's private party, hosted by the Bohart Museum Society for its members and friends, you witnessed a praying mantis, a dragonfly, a honeybee, a monarch butterfly and a horse fly all getting along fabulously.

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Two female praying mantes, Stagmomantis limbata, encounter one another on a potted plant in Vacaville. (Cell phone image by Mike Castro)

'This Hanging Pot Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us!'

October 30, 2023

"This hanging potted plant ain't big enough for both of us!" That's what a female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, seemed to be warning when she encountered another female on "her" hanging potted plant. So, how do you beat the competition? You defeat 'em and then you eat 'em.

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