Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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Saving the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee

January 10th, 2017
Hear that buzz? That's the sound of success. It finally happened. The beleaguered rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis, is now listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species, the first bee in the continental United States to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
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It Is Not a Good Time to Be a Butterfly

January 9th, 2017
It is not a good time to be a butterfly. Especially if you're a monarch butterfly that eclosed on Jan. 5 in cold and rainy Vacaville, Calif. while all--or most--of your counterparts are overwintering along coastal California or in central Mexico.
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Bruce Hammock: From Butterflies to Alzheimer's

January 6th, 2017
We remember hearing Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, present a seminar on From Butterflies to Blood Pressure and Beyond." He marveled at how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly and said that "science is full of surprises.
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