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
Honey bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's Crunch Time: Almond Conference Dec. 9-11

December 4, 2014
It's crunch time. Officials organizing the 42nd annual Almond Conference are gearing up for their three-day event, which takes place Tuesday, Dec. 9 through Thursday, Dec. 11 in the Sacramento Convention Center.
View Article
Primary Image
Diane Ullman looking over students' work. The colorful bee boxes were then moved over to the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology operates the garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Diane Ullman: An Honor Well Deserved

December 3, 2014
An honor well deserved. Diane Ullman, professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, is known for her innovative, multidisciplinary teaching strategies that connect science and art programs.
View Article
Primary Image
Retired marine fisheries specialist Chris DeWees fuses art with science.

Mayflies, Fish and the Fusion of Art and Science

December 2, 2014
This week while searching through backyard photos, I came across a mayfly I photographed on July 1, 2012 on our flowering artichoke. It looked like a little ol' man skiing through a purple landscape of spiked petals.
View Article
Primary Image
Honey bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mid-Winter Beekeepers' Feast

December 1, 2014
"It is the middle of winter," writes Amina Harris, director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center. "Pink and white buds are just peeking out on the burnished branches of the almond trees all over central California. It is just the beginning of spring.
View Article
Primary Image
A Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) nectaring on lantana on Black Friday. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Black Friday? No, Butterfly Friday

November 28, 2014
What did you do on Black Friday? Did you spend the night camped out in front of a store? Or did you join the throngs of people who left home in the wee hours of the morning for the doorbuster deals or stayed on your computer for the online onslaughts?
View Article