Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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In this image, taken Aug. 1, 2008, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (left) talks to vanpool driver Keir Reavie, head of the Biological and Agriculture Sciences Department at Shields Library, about the bees that "hitched" a ride on a commuter van traveling from El Cerrito to the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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A Honey of a Ride and a Whale of a Legacy

June 6th, 2022
It was a honey of a ride. My inaugural Bug Squad blog on Aug. 6, 2008 dealt with a swarm of bees that "hitched" a ride on Aug. 1 from El Cerrito to UC Davis on a commuter van. "At 7 a.m., a group of UC Davis employees approached their commuter van in an El Cerrito parking lot.
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A European wool carder bee in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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European Wool Carder Bees Are on the Move

June 2nd, 2022
Seen any European wool carder bees lately? European wool carder bees (so named because the female collects or cards plant hairs for their nests) are on the move. The bees, about the size of honey bees, are mostly black and yellow.
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A sulphur butterfly, Colias eurytheme, and a honey bee, Apis mellifera, meet on lavender. The butterfly is a male, as identified by Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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The Bee and the Butterfly

June 1st, 2022
The bee and the butterfly. Or, Apis mellifera and Colias eurytheme. One's a beneficial insect. That would "bee" the honey bee. The other is a yellow and white butterfly, striking in appearance, but in its larval stage, it's a major pest of alfalfa.
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