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 flameskimmer, Libellula saturata, perches on a bamboo stick in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

First Flameskimmer of the Year

May 24, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was a little late. The first flameskimmer of the year usually arrives in our yard in early April. Not this year. The species, Libellula saturata, was late. The easily recognized red dragonfly, also known as "the firecracker skimmer," touched down in our yard today, May 24.
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Master Beekeeper Sung Lee of Castro Valley, known worldwide on social media as "Sung Lee The Bee Charmer," displayed his observation hive at the California Honey Festival. With him is fellow CAMBP member Leandra Hale of Lake Tahoe. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bees and CAMBP Prevail at California Honey Festival

May 22, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Rain and hail pelted the California Honey Festival, held recently in downtown Woodland, but that didn't deter the estimated 22,000 to 25,000 attendees who simply opened their umbrellas, slipped on their rain gear, or dashed for cover at store fronts.
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A velvety tree ant encounters a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart Museum Open House: Ants, Hissers, Sticks and More

May 18, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Come for the ants, stay for the hissers. Or come for the hissers, stay for the ants. Either way, it's all good. When the Bohart Museum of Entomology hosts an open house on Sunday, May 21 from 1 to 4 p.m., ants will be the main attraction, but don't forget the critters in the live "petting zoo.
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