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 praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, hanging out on a milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. after molting. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Milkweed's New Buddy: It's Not a Monarch

August 19, 2021
Our showy milkweed (Asclepias speciosa) is putting on a show. The towering plant--a good eight feet--anchors the garden as we patiently wait for monarch butterflies to arrive and lay their eggs.
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Find the praying mantis! It's on the showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Memo to a Mantis

August 13, 2021
Dear Ms. Mantis, We see you. You're trying to camouflage yourself, but we see you. You're hanging out on a showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, trying to catch a butterfly or a bee.
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