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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Varroa mite (beneath wing) feeding on a forager (worker bee) as it's nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In the Shift from Nurse Bees to Foragers...

November 9, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Have you ever thought about the honey bee colony, the transition of nurse bees to foragers? What all is involved? There's exciting news today out of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Califoirnia, Davis.
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A handful of monarch caterpillars from one narrow-leafed milkweed plant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarch Population in California 'Booming'

November 6, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you missed it, you should to listen to what longtime butterfly researcher Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis, says about California's monarch butterfly population.
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Anurag Agrawal and his friend, a monarch butterfly. (Jason Koski, Cornell University Photography)

About Those Milkweeds and Their Toxicity...

November 5, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Cornell University evolutionary ecologist Anurag Agrawal, who received his doctorate in population biology at the University of California, Davis in 1999 under the tutelage of major professor Richard Rick Karban, is making the news with his groundbreaking research on milkweed toxicity.
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Buzzing with Excitement: This is the logo that graphic artist Steve Dana of Dixon created for the 141st annual Dixon May Fair.

Buzzing with Excitement!

November 4, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
That's a honey of a theme! When the 141st annual Dixon May Fair opens May 5-8, 2016 at 655 S 1st St.,Dixon, the grounds will be buzzing, in keeping with the theme, "Buzzing with Excitement." The fair is putting the "buzz" in bees and the bees in "buzz.
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Norm Gary, UC Davis emeritus professor of entomology, with Barbara Allen-Diaz, then vice president of the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All the Buzz: The Hive and the Honey Bee

November 3, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's out. The newly published edition of The Hive and the Honey Bee edited by American Bee Journal editor Joe Graham, is now a reality. This is the bible of the beekeeping world, and rightfully so.
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