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Honey bee nectaring Claremont pink currant (Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum 'Claremont') (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Plan Bee

March 2, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) lamented in his poem To a Mouse (1786) that The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. He had just plowed into a mouse nest on his farm. The loss of life disturbed him.
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QUEEN BUMBLE BEE--The queen bumble bees are out again, after overwintering. Entomologist Lynn Kimsey found this young queen in Briggs Hall on the UC Davis campus yesterday. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

The Humble Bumble Bee

February 27, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A sure sign of approaching spring... As the cold weather subsides, out come the overwintering queen bumble bees. They're gathering nectar and pollen, building their nests and laying eggs.
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NEWBORN BEE--A newborn bee at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis struggles to right herself. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

A Wonderful Gift

February 26, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a wonderful gift. Hagen-Dazs last December committed $125,000 to the UC Davis Department of Entomology to establish a bee friendly garden at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, and today, the winner of the design competition takes center stage. The winner...drum roll, please..
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These picture-winged flies were captured in Birds Landing in mid-February and popped into a jar for identification. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Picture Perfect?

February 25, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Lots of them, but what are they? Vacaville residents Mark and Julie Vasquez began finding little flies in Birds Landing, near Rio Vista, in late January 2009. Their numbers are increasing rapidly. Theyre everywhere, said Mark.
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BRAZILIAN-BORN ARTIST Eduardo Kac will speak Thursday night, March 5 as part of the Consilience of Art and Science colloquium, sponsored by the Art/Science Fusion Program at the University of California, Davis.
Bug Squad: Article

Insect.Desperto

February 24, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Have you seen it? Insect.Desperto? Internationally renowned artist Eduardo Kac, who uses biotechnology and genetics to create provocative works, created the runtime animation, "Insect.Desperto" back in 1995. (By the way, "Desperto means awaken in Portuguese.
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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
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
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
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
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
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
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
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
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
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
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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