Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) soars over a fence to lay its eggs on its host plant, the passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Gulf Fritillaries: Passion Makes Perfect

April 12th, 2018
No wall can separate a Gulf Fritillary from its host plant, the passionflower vine (Passiflora). The Gulf Frit Agraulis vanillae), an orangish-reddish butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, fluttered over our six-foot fence, heading straight for the passionflower vine.
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A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus with a thick load of resin on her thorax. She had just visited a nototribic flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Word of the Day: Nototribic

April 11th, 2018
The black-tailed bumble bee wasn't flying very well. You wouldn't, either, if you were trying to fly with a backpack on your back. Except this wasn't a backpack but sticky pollen.
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A pollen-laded yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, buzzes toward a mustard blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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A Bumble Bee on Mustard in the Golden State

April 10th, 2018
What's better than a yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) on yellow mustard? Not much. Both are signs of early spring. Mustard is popping up all over, along with oxalyis and wild radish. The earth is warming. Spring is here. Get ready.
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Hoang Danh "Derrick" Nguyen, who is studying for his master's degree in entomology, is shown here sampling insects from strawerry plants. (Photo by Christian Nansen)
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Living on the Edge

April 9th, 2018
Congratulations to Hoang Danh Derrick Nguyen, a graduate student in the Christian Nansen lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, for his recent publication in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development.
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