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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Close-up of a fly, genus Eristalis, on a flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Flies Are Pollinators, Too!

September 20, 2012
You may have noticed this little floral visitor in your garden. It might appear to be a bee, a common mistake to the untrained eye or those who think that all floral visitors are bees.
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A frame of honey at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

A Taste of Honey

September 19, 2012
If you want to learn more about bees, honey and pollination, then you'll want to attend the debut event of the newly formed Honey and Pollination Center at the University of California, Davis. Themed "Bounty of Pollination: More Than Just Honey," the event is set from 1 to 5:30 p.m.
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Honey bee is snared in the web of a garden spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Let It Bee

September 18, 2012
Let it be, let it be, let it be, let it be Whisper words of wisdom, let it be --Paul McCartney When Paul McCartney of The Beatles wrote "Let It Be," released in 1970, he wasn't writing about honey bees. No, he was actually recounting what his mother (who died when he was 14) told him in a dream.
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Derek Tully (right) and fellow scout Willie Hawkins work on the fence surrounding the half-acre pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Honey of a Fence

September 17, 2012
It's a honey of a garden and a honey of a fence. So agreed the visitors attending the open house and recognition ceremony last Saturday, Sept. 15 at the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre pollinator garden next to the UC Davis Department of Entomology's Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
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Pregnant praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mother to Be

September 14, 2012
Ever seen a pregnant praying mantis? Someone on wikianswers.com asked the question: "What does a pregnant praying mantis look like?" The question drew only one response: "Big and fat.
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