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
A male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, appears to be "resting" on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Boy Bumble Bee

May 23, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Don't you just love watching bumble bees? This morning we watched a yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) foraging on lavender. It moved quickly from one blossom to another, barely allowing us time for a "bee shoot." It was "bee gone" every time we aimed the camera. Finally, it cooperated.
View Article
Primary Image
A handful of bees, held by Barbara Allen-Diaz. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee Stunt: A First and a Last

May 22, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was Norm Gary's last bee wrangling stunt. And it was Barbara Allen-Diaz' first close-up encounter with bees. The occasion: Barbara Allen-Diaz, vice president of the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), was on the UC Davis campus recently to fulfill her UC Promise for Education.
View Article
Primary Image
Red-veined meadowhawk, Sympetrum madidum, perches on a stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Love Those Dragonflies!

May 20, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Don't you just love it when a dragonfly perches on a stake in your back yard and decides to stay for a while? That's what happened Sunday.
View Article
Primary Image
Honey bee foraging on a pomegranate blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee Crisis Explained

May 19, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
As honey bees go about their bee-ness, foraging among the pomegranate and other blossoms here in California, internationally recognized entomologist May Berenbaum, professor and head of the Department of Entomology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is preparing for her Storer Lecture...
View Article