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)

Cover Girl

June 23, 2016
If any insect should be the "cover girl" during National Pollinator Week, it ought to be the honey bee (Apis mellifera) Specifically, it should be the worker bee, although the queen bee and drones (males) have their place, too.
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Sharing the Bounty with the Bees

June 22, 2016
Move over, monarchs. Bees--and other pollinators--gravitate toward the enticing aroma of the milkweed, too. The milkweed is widely known as the larval host plant of the monarch butterflies--and a nectar source for the adults--but they have to share. Bee-cause.
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Quick, What's the California State Insect?

June 21, 2016
Quick, what's the California state insect? Umm, does California have a state insect? The Monarch? The Western Tiger Swallowtail? The Red Admiral? Wait, isn't this National Pollinator Week? Should I know what the state insect is? Yes, it is National Pollinator Week.
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Happy Father's Day!

June 17, 2016
Where have you been? For the last several weeks, we've been watching for signs of the first seasonal monarch caterpillar on our narrow-leafed milkweed. The lush leaves refused to yield any secrets. They looked untouched, undisturbed and intact.
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