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 praying mantis and freeloader flies dining on a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Freeloader Flies on Friday Fly Day

September 9, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Have you ever seen a freeloader fly trying to sneak a meal? Since it's Friday Fly Day--and the best things in life are free, aren't they?--it's time to post an image of a freeloader fly.

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ESA Journal Targets the Spotted-Wing Drosophila

September 8, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It was a major project, a long time coming, and what an excellent resource for those studying the spotted-wing drosophila, a worldwide threat to the berry production industry.

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UC Davis alumna Melody Keena, a research entomologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Research Station in Hamden, Conn., and a 39-year member of the 7000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA), is one of three newly selected Honorary Members, the organization's highest honor.

Congratulations to Melody Keena, UC Davis Alumna and Entomologist Extraordinaire

September 7, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Congratulations to Melody Keena, UC Davis alumna and entomologist extraordinaire. Keena, a research entomologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Research Station in Hamden, Conn.

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From left: Martin Müller, director of the Institute for Materials Physics at Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, and Christian Schroer, leading scientist of DESY's X-ray source PETRA III, accept a model of the newly identified ant from lead author Brendon Boudinot of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, and co-author Jörg Hammel, beamline scientist at the Hereon measurement station at PETRA III, where the research took place. (Photo courtesy of Marta Meyer, DESY)

Bug Squad: Article

Zeroing in on 20-Million-Year-Old Ants, a New Genus

September 6, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What incredible research! It involves fossilized male ants, estimated to be about 20 million years and encased in Ethiopian amber.

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Worker bees are aptly named. They comprise most of the bees in the colony and do most of the work. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

No Labor Day Holiday for Honey Bees

September 5, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

On Labor Day, a federal holiday, we celebrate the our country's labor movement, our gratitude, and our achievements. But there is no Labor Day holiday for the worker bee, one of three castes (queen, worker and drone) in a honey bee colony. No Labor Day holiday for the queen, either.

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