Bug Blog

The Art of the Bee

Thought for the day... Every time we see a honey bee "posing perfectly" on a Gaillardia, commonly known as blanket flower, we think of a quote by internationally known honey bee geneticist, Robert E. Page Jr., a UC Davis doctoral alumnus and professor...

A honey bee on a blanketflower, Gaillardia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A honey bee on a blanketflower, Gaillardia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Behold: the Banded Alder Borer

So there it was, an exotic-looking bug resting against a freshly painted red bollard at a Vacaville supermarket. It was not there to shop. Or to stop vehicles from crashing into the store or colliding with shoppers.  It was there, I suspect,...

The banded alder borer is attracted to fresh paint, probably because of the phermone-like scent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The banded alder borer is attracted to fresh paint, probably because of the phermone-like scent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris, crawls on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris, crawls on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. It's a longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Side view of the banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. It's a longhorned beetle in the family Cerambycidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye with a banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eye to eye with a banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee and a Butterfly: Sharing a Lavender Blossom

Ever seen a honey bee and a butterfly sharing a lavender blossom? Just in time for National Pollinator Week, June 17-23, we saw this today. What could be more pollinator friendly than that? The honey bee, Apis mellifera, and the Gulf...

A Gulf Fritillary and a honey bee sharing the same lavender blossom in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gulf Fritillary and a honey bee sharing the same lavender blossom in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Digging the Digger Bees and the Newly Published Research

Have you ever seen the digger bees on the sandy cliffs of Bodega Head, Sonoma County? if you hike a short distance up a meandering trail, you'll see a landscape of turrets, the work of solitary, ground-nesting digger bees, Anthophora bomboides...

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides standfordina, heading to her nest at Bodega Head. Note the ant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides standfordina, heading to her nest at Bodega Head. Note the ant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

At Bodega Head you can see turrets made by solitary, ground-nesting digger bees, Anthophora bomboides standfordina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

At Bodega Head you can see turrets made by solitary, ground-nesting digger bees, Anthophora bomboides standfordina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides standfordina, nectaring on wild radish. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A digger bee, Anthophora bomboides standfordina, nectaring on wild radish. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Here I am! Anthophora bomboides standfordina, at Bodega Head, Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Here I am! Anthophora bomboides standfordina, at Bodega Head, Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Rob Page: The Student, The Professor, The Scientist, The Administrator, The Legend

Internationally known honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page, Jr. is spotlighted in the current issue of American Entomologist in Marlin E. Rice's popular Legends feature. Titled "Robert E. Page, Jr.: The Spirit of the Bee," it's a great...

Internationally known honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page Jr. checks out a swarm in Arizona.

Internationally known honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page Jr. checks out a swarm in Arizona.

Rob Page, as a doctoral student at UC Davis, with his doctoral research mentor, Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Page received his doctorate in 1980. (Photo by Ron Stecker)

Rob Page, as a doctoral student at UC Davis, with his doctoral research mentor, Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Page received his doctorate in 1980. (Photo by Ron Stecker)

Read more