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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Worker bees--sisters--sharing nectar at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sister, Can You Spare Some Food?

September 11, 2012
We can all learn from the honey bees. Worker bees--sisters--are like feeding machines. They not only feed each other, but feed the queen and their brothers, the drones. It's a marvelous sight to see, nectar being passed from one bee to another.
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Male European carder bee (left) targets a honey bee on catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Aggressor

September 10, 2012
Talk about aggression. Talk about bullying. Talk about power maneuvers.
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White-lined sphinx moth in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Behold the White-Lined Sphinx Moth

September 7, 2012
Our cat used to catch them. She'd bring them into the house and watch them flutter at our feet. The white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) flies during the day and at night. It's not a graceful flier. It bumbles along like Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose on empty. With a wing span between 2.7 and 3.
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Red nymph of leaffooted bug, Leptoglossus zonatus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Seeing Red

September 6, 2012
It's easily missed because it's only a fraction of an inch long. But the color--a brilliant red--is right there. It's a little difficult to see on a red pomegranate, but it's there. What's there? The nymph of a leaffooted bug (Leptoglossus zonatus).
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