Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
Primary Image
Damselfly with water mites (see egglike mass). The insect next to it is probably thrips, according to Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Delightful Damselflies

August 8th, 2014
When an egret swooped down and ate all the goldfish in our fish pond--quite a smorgasbord of goldies--we left the pond bare for a couple of months. The result was a good one: more damselflies.
View Article
Primary Image
A fast-moving assassin bug spears a male metallic sweat bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Assassins, Bugs and Beer

August 7th, 2014
There I was, walking across the University of California, Davis, campus to the Environmental Sciences Building for an agricultural communicators' meeting: a notebook in my hand, cell phone in my pocket, and my trusty pocket camera strapped around my neck.
View Article
Primary Image
Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, glides on Jupiter's beard, Centranthus ruber. This one is missing part of its wing structure, no thanks to a predator. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

Close Shave on Jupiter's Beard

August 5th, 2014
The Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) is the kind of butterfly that combines steel with silk. It's a tough critter. Often you'll see it with its wings clipped by a predator--maybe a bird or a praying mantis.
View Article
Primary Image
Praying mantis snags a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Article

He Didn't Get the Message

August 4th, 2014
No, no, no, you got it all wrong! I said Please don't eat the pollinators! No butterflies and no bees. Eat the flies, gnats, mosquitoes, aphids and stink bugs. No butterflies or bees. Sadly, the praying mantis in our family bee garden does not listen to me.
View Article