Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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A Gulf Fritillary butterfly that never eclosed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Nobody Said Mother Nature Is Perfect

December 4th, 2019
Some people are born good-looking. Some have the gift of gab. And some are lucky enough to be born smarter than the rest of us. Whether we like it or not, Mother Nature does not dole these characteristics out evenly.--Simon Sinek How true. That applies to butterflies, too.
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The walnut twig beetle is about the size of a grain of rice. In association with the fungus, Geosmithia morbida, it causes the insect-pathogen complex known as "thousand cankers disease." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Jackson Audley: Targeting the Walnut Twig Beetle

December 2nd, 2019
Doctoral candidate and forest entomologist Jackson Audley of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, targets an invasive bark beetle that's about the size of a grain of rice. The beetle? The walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis.
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Winemaker Chik Brenneman leads a group at the 2017 UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center's Mead Making Bootcamp. (Honey and Pollination Center Photo)
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UC Davis Mead Course: From Honey to Bottle in One Day

November 29th, 2019
Rome wasn't built in a day. But learning how to make mead? You can learn the process from "honey to the bottle all in one day" on Thursday, Jan. 23 at the University of California, Davis. Mead, the world's oldest alcoholic beverage, is a fermented blend of pure honey and water.
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The honey bee is responsible for pollinating about one-third of the food in our diet. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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What Are You Thankful for? Insects on the List?

November 28th, 2019
So you're seated at the Thanksgiving dinner table listening to what people are thankful for, what they treasure the most. The three "F's" win hands-down: family, friends and food. But "insects" should definitely added to that list.
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