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 heading for a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Thankful for Insects

November 28, 2013
Of the many things I'm thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day, I am thankful for the millions of insects that populate our planet. Scientists have described more than a million species, but there may be 10 million more undescribed. I am thankful for honey bees.
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Spotted cucumber beetle and its path of destruction. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Diabolical Diabrotica

November 27, 2013
Some folks mistake the spotted cucumber beetle for a ladybug or lady beetle. However, unlike the beneficial ladybug, which devours aphids and other soft-bodied insects, the spotted cucumber beetle is a major agricultural pest.
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The image of a blue dasher, captured by Rachel Graham of UC Davis, appears in the Entomological Society of America's 2014 World of Insects Calendar.

Her Blue Dasher Is ESA's June Bug

November 26, 2013
What a stunning photo! Rachel Graham, a master's student in entomology at the University of California, Davis who loves photographing insects, recently submitted an image of a blue dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis, for the Entomological Society of America's 2014 World of Insects calendar.
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A skipper on a cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Skipping Along

November 25, 2013
As fall fades and winter beckons, we're still seeing skipper butterflies foraging in cosmos, lantana and other flowers. Lepidopterans study 'em but we just admire 'em. Distinguishing characteristics of skippers include "clubs" on the tips of their antennae, and those huge, compound eyes.
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These jewel beetles will be displayed at the Bohart Museum's open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All That Glitters May Be Beetles

November 22, 2013
All that glitters may be beetles--jewel beetles. You'll want to attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Saturday, Nov. 23 from 1 to 4 p.m. to bask in the theme, "Beauty and the Beetles.
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