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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Golden bee (Cordovan) nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Revisiting 'The 13 Bugs of Christmas'

December 24, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's time to revisit "The 13 Bugs of Christmas." You've heard "The 12 Days of Christmas," beginning with a single "partridge in a pear tree" and ending with "12 drummers drumming.
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Inside the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Night Before Christmas...in a Bee Colony

December 24, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Professor Clement Clarke Moore (July 15, 1779 July 10, 1863) wrote "A Visit from St. Nicholas" for his family in 1822. It later became known as "The Night Before Christmas." Fast forward, 92 years later.
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This photo by Professor Jay Rosenheim of UC Davis shows sexual cannibalism. The female (larger one) has just chomped off the head of the male, during sexual reproduction.

Making a Meal Out of a Male: Prayers Answered!

December 23, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Male praying mantids looking for "a little love" don't always fare well. Sometimes they lose their head. Female mantids can--and do--cannibalize them before, during or after copulation.
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Bruce Hammock is a new fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bruce Hammock: Scientist Extraordinaire

December 19, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's obvious that Bruce Hammock doesn't spend much time in a hammock. Research lab, yes. With colleagues, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students and undergraduate students, yes.
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