Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
Primary Image
A honey bee foraging on a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Better Statistics for the Bees

September 5th, 2014
The bees. What about the bees? How are they doing? Better, says retired Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, who today published the last edition of his newsletter, from the UC Apiaries.
View Article
Primary Image
Male European wool carder bee heads for a foxglove. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Those Foxy Wool Carder Bees

September 4th, 2014
Foxgloves, meet the European wool carder bee. European wool carder bee, meet the foxgloves. It's like "old home week" when these two get together. The plant (Digitalis purpurea) and the bee (Anthidium manicatum) are both native to Europe.
View Article
Primary Image
Praying mantis stretches in the African blue basil. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

How to Train Your Praying Mantis

September 3rd, 2014
We've trained puppies to "come," "sit" and "heel." We've trained an African grey parrot to say "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty! Meow!" We've trained the kitty to ignore the parrot. But how do you train a praying mantis? You don't.
View Article
Primary Image
A honey bee sipping syrup from a hummingbird feeder. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Will Hummingbird Syrup Harm the Bees?

September 2nd, 2014
It's no secret that honey bees like the sugar/water mixture in hummingbird feeders. If there's no bee guard on the feeder or if the feeder isn't bee-proofed, bees will sip the mixture. They also will lick the spills. A sudden gust that sways or upends the feeder is "bee happy time.
View Article
Primary Image
A praying mantis snares a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Bad Day for a Bee

September 1st, 2014
It was a good day to be a praying mantis. It was not a good day to be a honey bee. Just before noon today, we watched a green praying mantis lurking in the African blue basil, like a camouflaged soldier ready to ambush the enemy.
View Article