If you have a passionflower vine (Passiflora), you probably have cats. No, not the four-legged ones that meow, chase mice or cavort with catnip. These 'cats or caterpillars are part of the life cycle of the Gulf Fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae) and Passiflora is their host plant.

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Scholar, writer, biologist and educator Robert Michael Pyle visiting the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology lepidoptera collection in July of 2019. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Robert Michael Pyle: The Face of Insect Conservation

August 3rd, 2021

Robert Michael Pyle, founder of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, was right at home at the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology back in July of 2019, when he and other members of the international Lepidopterists' Society toured the insect museum as part of their 68th annual meeting.

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This UC Davis 1993 image shows doctoral students Kelli Hoover (foreground), Bryony Bonning and Bill McCutcheon with their major professor, Sean Duffey, 1943-1997. Duffey, vice chair of the Department of Entomology, died May 21, 1997 of an embolism from undiagnosed lung cancer.

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Kelli Hoover: Born in Texas, Raised in California, Schooled in Insects

August 2nd, 2021

Born in Lubbock, Texas, raised in the south San Francisco area, and schooled in insects. That was just the beginning of what would unfold into an outstanding entomological career.

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A honey bee begins cleaning her proboscis (tongue) before landing on a blossoming artichoke. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Retractable Landing Gear: Bee Approaches an Artichoke

July 30th, 2021

When you're a honey bee and you're packing pollen and approaching your landing--an artichoke thistle--it's a good idea to clean your proboscis (tongue) first. Caught in flight: a honey bee doing a little grooming.

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Assorted elm leaf beetles and larvae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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These Beetles Don't Want to Hold Your Hand

July 29th, 2021

The Beatles sang "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The elm leaf beetles and their larvae don't want to hold your hand--unless perhaps you're holding a elm leaf that they can eat. A recent walk down the 200 block of Buck Avenue, Vacaville, California, revealed the damage this pest does.

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