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
A syrphid fly foraging on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's Friday Fly Day!

August 12, 2022
It's Friday Fly Day! And what better day than a Friday to post an image of a syrphid fly nectaring on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii? We all need "pretty" in our lives.
View Article
Primary Image
Adrienne R. Shapiro of Davis captured this image of a nesting European paper wasps in the mouth of a garden frog statue in a Davis neighborhood. (Photo courtesy of Adrienne R. Shapiro)

Ever Seen a Wasp Colony in a Frog's Mouth?

August 10, 2022
In real life, frogs eat flies, mosquitoes, bees, wasps and other insects. But have you ever seen a frog's mouth filled with an entire European wasp colony? No? Check this out! On Aug. 8, sharp-eyed Adrienne R.
View Article
Primary Image
This damselfly appears framed "in the red" (a red vehicle light). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Damselflies: Long, Slender and Delicate

August 8, 2022
If you like your insects long, slender and delicate, and resembling a flying neon needle, the damselfly is for you. Who can resist watching them and photographing them? The common blue damselfly or Northern Bluet (Enallagma cyathigerum) is as thin as a needle, a jeweled blue needle.
View Article