Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
Primary Image
Bernie Sanders in front of the Bohart Museum of Entomology on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
Article

Bernie Sanders Really Did Visit UC Davis

January 22nd, 2021
As a presidential candidate, Vermont senator Bernie Sanders visited the UC Davis campus in 2016. He's back--not as a presidential candidate but as a meme. A meme? It all started when photographer Brendan Smialowski for Getty Images photographed him at President Joe Biden's inauguration.
View Article
Primary Image
Red admiral, Vanessa atalanta. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

In Search of Butterflies

January 21st, 2021
Oh, to find a butterfly in January. Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, knows where they are. As mentioned in a previous Bug Squad blog, he spotted a cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, on Jan.
View Article
Primary Image
Thrips is a major pest of lettuce production in Salinas. (Illustration courtesy of Daniel Hasegawa)
Article

Research Entomologist Daniel Hasegawa Targets Thrips

January 18th, 2021
They're small, about 1 mm long or less, with characteristic fringed wings. They fly, but not well. But thrips do pack a powerful punch. A major pest of many agricultural crops, including lettuce, they damage plants by (1) sucking their juices and (2) transmitting viruses.
View Article