Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay

UC ANR is renovating its website. The Bug Squad blog, by Kathy Keatley Garvey of the University of California, Davis, is a daily (Monday-Friday) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008. It is about the wonderful world of insects and the entomologists who study them. Blog posts are archived at https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/archive.cfm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Honey bee heading toward almonds blossoms on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Symphony in the Almonds

February 22, 2013
Symphony in the almond blossoms... There's a wild almond tree planted in a field off Bee Biology Road at the University of California, Davis, that's incredibly beautiful. Honey bees from the nearby apiary at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
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Molecular neurobiologist Anupama Dahanukar of UC Riverside working with Drosophila cultures with junior specialist, Adriana Medina.
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Insects and Their Taste Receptors

February 21, 2013
If you want to know about the molecular neurobiology of feeding behavior in insects, then the University of California, Davis campus is the place to be on Wednesday, Feb. 27.
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Spotted cucumber beetle inside flowering quince blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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The Imposter

February 20, 2013
'Tis the season for the return of the insects. Many a honey bee foraged in the flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) last weekend. But wait, what's that? A spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) tucked inside a blossom.
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Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp of UC Davis is a nationally known expert on bumble bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Saving the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee

February 19, 2013
It's good to see that the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and noted bumble bee expert Robbin Thorp of UC Davis have filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Endangered Species Act protection for the beleagured rusty-patched bumble bee.
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Pollen-packing honey bee cleaning her tongue as she heads for flowering quince. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Where the Yellow Pollen Came From

February 18, 2013
"Where'd that yellow pollen come from?" Beekeepers who watch their bees return to their hives with pollen loads like to guess the origin of the pollen. Red, yellow, blue, white... It's not unlike "What Color Is Your Parachute?" the job-hunting guide by Richard N. Bolles.
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