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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Gulf Fritillaries flutter over a praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, in a passionflower patch in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Will a Praying Mantis Eat a Caterpillar?

October 12, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Will a praying mantis eat a caterpillar? Short answer: Yes. For several days, we've been watching a resident praying mantis, a female Mantis religiosa, hanging out in our patch of Passiflora (passionflower), the host plant of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly, Agraulis vanillae.
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Global change ecologist Amanda Koltz, a senior scientist with the Department of Biology, Washington University, St. Louis, will present a virtual seminar, hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology, on Oct. 14.

Amanda Koltz Seminar: Species Interactions and Global Change

October 9, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"It's important to consider species interactions in efforts to understand ecosystem responses to global change." So says global change ecologist Amanda Koltz, a senior scientist with the Department of Biology, Washington University, St.
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