Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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So, You Want to Become a Beekeeper...

August 4th, 2016
So you want to become a beekeeper... You want to do your part to help the declining bee population. You want to learn about the honey bees that pollinate the food you eat, including fruits, vegetables and nuts (especially almonds!). You'd love some honey for your table and some wax to make candles.
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Drama in the Pollinator Patch

August 3rd, 2016
So here's this newly eclosed male monarch trying to sip a little nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). A female longhorned bee, probably Melissodes agilis, seeks to claim it. There's no such thing as sharing, especially when nectar is at stake and it's first-come, first-served.
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Where You Can Learn All About Bees and Beekeeping

August 2nd, 2016
If you're a beekeeper or plan to become a beekeeper, you need to read the UC Davis Apiculture Newsletter, the work of Extension apiculturist Elina Nio and her associates at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, aka the UC Davis Bee Biology Facility.
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It Happens: Nature Isn't Perfect

August 1st, 2016
If you engage in a mini-monarch conservation project, you know the joy of watching the egg-caterpillar-chrysalis-adult transformation. It's one of Nature's miracles.
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