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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A honey bee sipping nectar from a hole drilled by a carpenter bee on a foxglove. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Short Cut

September 18, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
We all take shortcuts. We look for the shortest line at the supermarket, we use keyboard shortcuts, and we text how r u? So, why shouldn't honey bees use shortcuts? They do.
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Backlit, the monarch resembles a stained glass window as it touches down on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bring Back the Monarchs!

September 17, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When a monarch butterfly comes fluttering through your yard, grab your camera. Marvel at it beauty, celebrate its presence, and keep it in your memory. It may be become an endangered species the way things are going.
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Art Shapiro saw 19 of this species, Pieris rapae, or cabbage white, today at his North Sacramento study site. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

A Close Call

September 16, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Butterfly expert Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis, isn't feeling so well--to put it mildly--but he still went out on one of his butterfly monitoring expeditions today at his study site in North Sacramento.
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A praying mantis perches on a cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Prayers Answered

September 12, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Praying mantids are, oh, so patient. They perch on a flower, their spiked forelegs seemingly locked in a praying position, and wait to ambush unsuspecting prey. A green praying mantis recently did just that on our cosmos.
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