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)

Two's company, three's a crowd? Milkweed bugs on a cactus on Jan. 2, 2022 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Overwintering Milkweed Bugs on the Prowl

January 10, 2022

Have you seen any overwintering milkweed bugs lately? About a dozen milkweed bugs, Oncopeltus fasciatus, emerged from seclusion Jan. 2, 2022 in our Vacaville garden. The temperature hovered at 32 degrees that morning, but when the sun peeked out, there they were. Mating.

View Article

This is the Aedes aegypti mosquito that transmits such diseases as dengue, chikungunya, Zika and yellow fever. (CDC Photo)

Mosquito Expert Sylvia Fischer to Give UC Davis Virtual Seminar on Jan. 12

January 7, 2022

Mosquito expert Sylvia Fischer of the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, will present the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's virtual seminar on Wednesday, Jan.

View Article

A screen shot of Art Shapiro's butterfly site at http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/

Art Shapiro: One Moth, One Butterfly

January 6, 2022

The New Year is less than a week old, and Lepidoptera (aka Lep) species are scarce. Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, has spotted only one moth and one butterfly since Wednesday, Jan. 5.

View Article

Marek Borowiec (left) shakes hands with E. O. Wilson at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ). Borowiec went on to receive his doctorate in entomology from UC Davis and is now an assistant professor at the University of Idaho.

UC Davis Alumnus Marek Borowiec: Remembering E. O. Wilson

January 5, 2022

The work of legendary E. O. Wilson (June 10, 1929 Dec. 26, 2021) influenced so many students to begin the scientific study of ants (myrmecology).

View Article

An Argentine ant climbs up a spoon laden with honey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ants: 'The Little Things That Run the World'

January 4, 2022

The recent death of "Ant Man" E. O. Wilson brings back memories of a family-friendly seminar on ants that UC Davis Professor Phil Ward presented Feb. 20, 2021 during the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day/Month.

View Article