Bug Blog

Honey Bee Is a True Communication Specialist

Picture yourself as a waggle-dancing honey bee.  You're dancing in the dark, on a small, crowded dance floor with lots of obstacles, and you're trying to communicate to other foragers where that great resource is. You're relating the direction,...

A look inside a bee hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A look inside a bee hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Last Goodbye

So there she is, a gnarling-looking praying mantis, the last of the season, and on her last legs. Last spiked forelegs? From her perch on a cactus in a Vacaville garden, this Stagmomantis limbata is neither praying nor preying. She is...

A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, stares at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, stares at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Does Life Imitate Art, or Does Art Imitate Life?

Does life imitate art, or does art imitate life? In his essay, The Decay of Lying (1889), Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) wrote: “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life,” adding  “the...

Virginia-based artist Cheyenne Renee Marcus painted this mural at the corner of Main and Elizabeth streets, Vacaville, in 2022. It's a main attraction. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Virginia-based artist Cheyenne Renee Marcus painted this mural at the corner of Main and Elizabeth streets, Vacaville, in 2022. It's a main attraction. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of an artist rendition (by Cheyenne Renee Marcus) of a flameskimmer dragonfly in downtown Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of an artist rendition (by Cheyenne Renee Marcus) of a flameskimmer dragonfly in downtown Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Exciting to See Rob Page Double-Featured in 'Bee World'

It's exciting to see internationally acclaimed honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page Jr. double-featured in Bee World, published by the International Bee Research Association. Page, a UC Davis doctoral alumnus, a UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor...

Honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page Jr. looks at a swarm. (Photo courtesy of Arizona State University)

Honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page Jr. looks at a swarm. (Photo courtesy of Arizona State University)

Professor James Nieh: Deciphering Honey Bee Communication

The fascinating world of honey bee communication! The next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar will feature professor James Nieh, a bee biologist in the Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, Division of...

Honey bees at work in the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey bees at work in the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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