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)
Primary Image
As temperatures soar, feral honey bees engage in bearding to reduce the heat load inside. These bees are in a sycamore tree on the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Bee Bearding in California's Excessive Heat

July 17, 2023
Have you read the excessive heat warnings and the guidelines to prevent heat illnesses as triple-digit temperatures hold us hostage in Yolo and Solano counties and elsewhere?. UC Davis Safety Services related this week: Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
View Article
Primary Image
A female sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, heads for a Coreopsis. Both are natives to California. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Native Bee, Native Flower, Sunny California

July 14, 2023
Just a day in the life of a native bee on a native flower in native California. Svastra obliqua expurgata, also called "the sunflower bee," absolutely loves Coreoposis californica, sometimes called tickseed. If you were a plant, would you want to be called "tickseed?" Probably not.
View Article
Primary Image
A garden in progress...A new addition to the Joseph and Emma Lin Biological Orchard and Garden at UC Davis is a cacti/succulent garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

A New Look at the BOG

July 13, 2023
There's a new look to the Joseph and Emma Lin Biological Orchard and Garden, a 24,000-square-foot treasure behind the UC Davis Botanical Conservatory, off Kleiber Hall Drive.
View Article