Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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Ettamarie Peterson, known as the "Queen Bee of Sonoma County," gets ready to greet visitors at the Vacaville Museum Guild's Children's Party, an annual event held every August in the museum courtyard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Good to See Ettamarie Peterson 'Bee' Honored

December 13th, 2024
It was good to see Sonoma County's "Queen Bee," Ettamarie Peterson of Petaluma, bee honored on the cover of the December edition of Bee Culture magazine. She often submits articles for the magazine. I decided it was time her to be featured and wrote a two-page article, illustrated with six images.
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A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, packing red pollen from a lupine last July at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Bumble Bee's Red Pollen: 'Tis the Season

December 12th, 2024
Ever noticed that when yellow-faced bumble bees, Bombus vosnesenskii, forage in lupine that their pollen is red? Last July when we were camping at Bodega Bay, we delighted in watching the bumble bees foraging in the lupine.
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A monarch caterpillar munching on a milkweed leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Good News on the Monarch Front

December 10th, 2024
Good news on the monarch front. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a proposal to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species "with species-specific protections and flexibilities to encourage conservation" under Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
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