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 monarch caterpillar sharing a milkweed leaf with oleander aphids on Dec. 8, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarch 'Cats Sleeping with the Aphids

December 8, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Sleeping with the aphids...that's what this monarch caterpillar was doing. It lived--and quite hidden at that--through the freezing cold, the rain, and the wind. It surfaced today on a milkweed in our Vacaville pollinator garden.
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A monarch sips nectar from lantana near a Vacaville supermarket. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mantis vs. a Monarch

December 7, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Can a praying mantis catch a monarch? Yes, it can. And yes, it does. It was Sept. 14, 2013. As I approached a Vacaville supermarket, I noticed pink lantana blooming furiously near the entrance, and then, a familiar-looking butterfly quietly sipping nectar. "Ah, there's a monarch," I observed.
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Does Santa shop at the Bohart? Yes, he does. Items in the gift shop include monarch pins. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Santa Shops at the Bohart!

December 6, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
News flash: Santa shops at the Bohart Museum of Entomology gift shop at UC Davis. Yes, he does.
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A close up of the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association's all-time best-selling T-shirt, "The Beetles." Each image bears the family name: Phengogidae, Curculionidae, Cerambycidae and Scarabaeidae.

The Beatles vs. The Beetles: This T-Shirt Never Fails to Draw Smiles

December 4, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Remember the celebrated image of George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon crossing Abbey Road in single file outside their studios in London? It's the cover of their final album, "Abbey Road," released Sept. 26, 1969. All the Beatles, except Harrison, are wearing designer suits.
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