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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Aedes aegypti, the yellow fever mosquito. (Photo courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Bug Squad: Article

Household Vampires Want Your Blood

September 13, 2023
What do you think of when someone mentions "household vampires?" Fleas? Ticks? Bed bugs? Mosquitoes? Yes! The Bohart Museum of Entomology will host an open house, themed "Household Vampires," from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept.
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A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, touches down next to a male monarch, Danaus plexippus, on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Oops! Wrong Species, Wrong Gender

September 12, 2023
So here's this male monarch nectaring on a pink zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. The nectar is rich and he is as hungry as a migrant butterfly seeking flight fuel for the long journey ahead.
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A newly eclosed male monarch spreads its wings. In the back is a female. Both eclosed on Sept. 5 in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

WSU-Tagged Monarchs May Be Heading Your Way

September 11, 2023
Seen any tagged monarchs lately? If you live in California, tagged monarchs from the migratory research project of entomologist David James of Washington State University may be heading your way. One tagged monarch, a male, fluttered into our Vacaville pollinator garden on Sept. 5, 2016.
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The legendary Robbin Thorp in front of an almond tree on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

The Legendary Robbin Thorp: A Tribute Well Deserved

September 8, 2023
When UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal created a video tribute honoring the UC Davis faculty who recently transitioned to emeriti, he singled out one very special emeriti as an example of tremendous community, academic and scientific engagement: Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), distinguished eme...
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A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

A Monarch Takes Flight

September 7, 2023
A monarch on the move... When you see a monarch foraging on a flower, have you ever seen them--or photographed them--taking flight? It's not your iconic image of monarch, but a few twists and turns, jumble of colors and jagged lines, and the monarch takes flight.
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