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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A tiny monarch egg. Image taken on Nov. 14, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarchs on the Move...So Many Mysteries

November 21, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Monarchs on the move...so many mysteries. Where do Western monarchs go after leaving their overwintering sites along coastal California in February? An observation: They didn't stop in the spring or summer to deposit eggs on any of our four species of milkweed in our Vacaville pollinator garden.
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UC Davis doctoral students Iris Quayle (left) of the Jason Bond lab and Mia Lippey of the labs of UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim and assistant professor Emily Meineke, show some of the EGSA T-shirts. Lippey serves as EGSA president, and Quayle as treasurer.
Bug Squad: Article

Insect and Arachnid-Inspired T-Shirts Are All the Fashion

November 17, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Love insects and arachnids? Members of the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology design insect and arachnid-themed T-shirts that are all the fashion.
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A dorsal view of a syprhid fly sunning itself on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Syrphid Flies Are Pollinators, Too

November 16, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Sometimes overlooked as pollinators are the syrphid flies, also known as "hover flies" or "flower flies." Unfortunately, they are often mistaken for honey bees. Hey, if it's a critter on a flower, it's a bee, right? Not necessarily! Syrphid flies are easily distinguished from honey bees.
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French evolutionary biologist Etienne GJ Danchin
Bug Squad: Article

Amazing World of Nematodes: 'Parasitic Success in Absence of Sex'

November 15, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Would you like to learn more about nematodes--specifically, "Parasitic Success in the Absence of Sex: What Have We Learned from Nematode Genomes?" French evolutionary biologist Etienne GJ Danchin will discuss that topic at a seminar on Monday, Nov.
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