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A CARPENTER BEE and a honey bee head for the same squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Victory in the Garden

June 2, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you like squash, you have a bee to thank. Without bees, no pollination. Without pollination, no squash. Honey bees in California pollinate some 100 agricultural crops, including fruits, nuts and vegetables. One of them is squash.
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'THE FACE OF DARWIN,' a ceramic mosaic created in a freshman seminar at UC Davis in commemoration of Darwin's 200th birthday anniversary, shows the organisms he studied and the secret notes he harbored. (Photo courtesy of Diane Ullman)

The Face of Darwin

June 1, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Look closely at Charles Darwin's ceramic face. You'll see selections from his secret notebooks and images of organisms that most influenced his scientific studies. His beard is peppered with moths. You'll also find barnacles, iguanas, finches, orchids and other creatures on his face.
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HONEY BEE nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All Things Lavender

May 29, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A field of dreams, for a honey bee, almost certainly would be a field of lavender. Call it what you want, but if a bee could talk, it would probably be "lovely lavender.
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FRANK ZALOM, professor of entomology and integrated pest management specialist (IPM), UC Davis Department of Entomology, is part of the IPM team making a difference in Central Asia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Delivering IPM to Central Asia

May 28, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Making a difference--that's what it's all about. An integrated pest management (IPM) team from the United States is in Central Asia for the third Integrated Pest Management Stakeholders' Forum, June 1-5 in Bishhek, Kyrgystan.
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OPENING A HIVE--UC Cooperative Extension Apiculturist Eric Mussen (second from left) shows a frame to the Vietnamese scientists. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Golden Moments

May 27, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
They're now back in Vietnam, but for three days they went on a honey of a tour.
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WHILE one male carpenter bee (Xylocopa tabaniformis) nectars on sage, another male attempts to scare him away. Male carpenter bees are very territorial. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Two Is Not Company

May 26, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
You rarely see two male adult carpenter bees in the same photo. They are very aggressive and territorial. While they're waiting for females to arrive, they chase all prospective suitors away. Unlike the females, however, they can't sting.
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ROSE CURCULIO lays its eggs inside a yellow rose bud. Note the holes in the rose bud. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garevy)
Bug Squad: Article

I Never Promised You...a Rose Weevil

May 25, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden. Along with the sunshine, There's gotta be a little rain sometimes. --Joe South And maybe a rose curculio or rose weevil.
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SYRPHID, aka flower fly or hover fly, lands on a cosmos. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Caught on the Cosmos

May 22, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Cosmos flowers are somewhat like Libras. They balance. In fact, the word, "cosmos," means "harmony" or "ordered universe" in Greek. Plant cosmos and you'll soon be enjoying colorful flowers that belong to the Asteraceae family, which also includes sunflowers, daisies and asters.
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UC DAVIS RESEARCHER Robbin Thorp with a computer screen showing Franklin's bumble bee. He captured this image on a California poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Goodbye, Franklin's Bumble Bee?

May 21, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Let's have a show of hands. How many of you have seen Franklin's bumble bee in the wild? Never HEARD of it, you say? Well, you probably will never SEE it, either. Bumble bee experts think it may be extinct.
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BEE PROJECT--Bay Area resident Sheridan Miller raised $733 to help bee research at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Because Sheridan Cares

May 20, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Sheridan Miller's gift to UC Davis for honey bee research was both generous and thoughtful. The 11-year-old Bay Area resident raised $733 for the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
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