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)
This little critter, probably a native bee, seems to be glaring at the photographer. The flower is a rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Visitor in the Garden

February 23, 2009
The rain and wind took turns destroying the flowers in our garden last Sunday in a siege not unlike a scene from The Wrestler. The rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora) took a beating, but like Mickey Rourke, it will return.
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QUEEN BEE (center with the dot) is tended by worker bees. Bees are social insects, creating a highly social organization with set duties and responsibilities. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

The Bee

February 20, 2009
Claire Preston isn't a beekeeper but she's written an informative book titled Bee. Published in 2006 by Reaktion Books, London, it's short, simple and sweet. Especially sweet.
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CHARLES DARWIN: BIRTHDAY BOY--This caricature of Charles Darwin perches on a shelf in the lab of UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes. The UC Davis Center for Population Biology is sponsoring a Darwin Day at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23 in the Varsity Theater, 616 Second St., Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Diggin' Darwin Day

February 19, 2009
It promises to attract a large crowd. The UC Davis Center for Population Biology is planning a Darwin Day on Monday, Feb. 23. If it sounds like a belated birthday party, it is and it isn't. Darwin Day, billed as "a global celebration of science and reason," is held on or around Feb.
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MIDGE MADNESS--This photo, showing billions of midges, was taken during the peak of the midge emergence at Lake Myvatn, Iceland. (Photo courtesy of Claudio Gratton)
Bug Squad: Article

Midge Madness!

February 18, 2009
Midge madness? Yes, and Briggs beckons. "Midge madness" will occur from 12:10 to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25 in 122 Briggs Hall on the University of California, Davis, campus.
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STUDYING INSECTS--University of California, Davis entomologist Penny Gullan, a native of Australia, and noted British entomologist Douglas Williams collaborate on insect scale taxonomy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Down Under and on Deadline

February 17, 2009
They're Down Under and on deadline. Entomology professors Penny Gullan and Peter Cranston of the University of California, Davis, are finishing the fourth edition of their popular textbook, The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. They're not in Davis, though.
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