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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Jakub Gabka, a bee scientist from Poland, held this expression for a minute during the bee beard event at UC Davis. This photo appears on the cover of the current American Bee Journal. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

To Bee or Not To Bee?

October 1, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
To bee or not to bee? That was not the question. There was no question. The answer was "yes" before the event began. When visiting bee scientist Jakub Gabka of Warsaw, Poland, studied at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
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Drone fly nectaring on bulbine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

Another Kind of Drone Strike

September 30, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
No, it's not a honey bee. But many people think all floral visitors are bees. It's a fly. A drone fly. Family: Syrphidae; subfamily Eristalinae; tribe Eristalini; genus, Eristalis. Like all syrphids, it has two wings. The honey bee has four.
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Inside the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All About Honey Bee Colony Health

September 27, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
(Editor's Note: Due to the government shutdown, this seminar has been cancelled.) It's a topic we've all been waiting for: "Honey Bee Health and Disease Resistance.
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A Monarch butterfly nectaring on lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mighty Monarchs Gone Missing

September 26, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The news is not good. Scores of Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) are now migrating toward their overwintering zone in Mexico but they're doing so in dwindling numbers.
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Two gray hairstreaks and a honey bee sharing a sedum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two 'Streaks on a Sedum

September 25, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Two 'streaks on a sedum. Sounds like a song, doesn't it? Actually there were two gray hairstreaks (Strymon melinus) on a sedum today in the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis. Make that two 'streaks and a honey bee.
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