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 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
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
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.
View Article
Primary Image
Thomas Sparks, recipient of Entomological Association of America's 2021 Nan-Yao Su Award for Innovation and Creativity in Entomology.

Congrats to Tom Sparks, Recipient of ESA's Nan-Yao Su Award

August 18, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Congrats to biological chemist and green pesticide developer Thomas Tom Sparks, winner of the Entomological Association of America's 2021 Nan-Yao Su Award for Innovation and Creativity in Entomology. ESA announced the award today.
View Article
Primary Image
Cheryl Veretto was first in line to take the California Master Beekeeper Program practical test administered in September 2016. With her is UC Davis research associate Charley Nye, CAMBP examiner and manager of the Laidlaw facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Master Beekeeper Cheryl Veretto: She Loved Bees, Plants and People

August 16, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Cheryl Veretto was the first to step forward. She and 51 other beekeepers had gathered that day in September 2016 at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis to undergo testing to become California Master Beekeepers at the apprentice level.
View Article
Primary Image
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
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
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.
View Article