Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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Jessica Gillung, then a doctoral candidate at UC Davis, holds a display of Atlas moths at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. She is now an assistant professor McGill University, Montreal. This week is National Moth Week. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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In Celebration of National Moth Week

July 19th, 2021
It's National Moth Week, which, according to the officials, is a time to celebrate "the beauty, life cycle and habitats of moths." So "moth-ers" of all ages and abilities "are encouraged to learn about, observe and document moths in their backyards, parks and neighborhoods.
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FLOAT LIKE A LEPIDOPTERA--A monarch floats over milkweed, its host plant, in this image taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Float Like Lepidoptera, Sting Like Hymenoptera?

July 16th, 2021
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Early in his career, the late heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali (1942-2016) drew international headlines when he uttered that remark before his 1964 fight with then champion Sonny Liston.
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The Gray Hairstreak, Strymon melinus, sips nectar on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. The orange spots accent the orange flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Gotta Love that Gray Hairstreak

July 15th, 2021
Gotta love that Gray Hairstreak. If you don't like putting "gray" and "hair" in the same sentence, not to worry. This is the butterfly, Strymon melinus. When the it's hanging around a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, the orange spots on its tail accent the color of the flower.
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