Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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A monarch caterpillar, the result of fall breeding in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Roll Call: Answer If You're Here

December 14th, 2023
Roll call of monarch caterpillars today in a milkweed bed in a Vacaville pollinator garden. Secretary: "Caterpillar No. 1!" "Present." Secretary: "Caterpillar No. 2!" "Present!" Secretary: "Caterpillar No. 3!" "Present!" Secretary: "Caterpillar No. 4!" "Here!" Secretary: "Caterpillar No.
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This image of the larva of an elm zigzag fly appears on the cover of the 2024 Entomological Society of America calendar. (Photo by Christian Brockes of Germany)
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Inside the 'World of Insects' Calendar

December 13th, 2023
If you like insects, macro photography, and cool calendars, you'll want to order the "World of Insects" calendar, published by the Entomological Society of America. You'll see insects you've never seen before--and learn a little about them.
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This image of Kim Flottum, taken May 20, 2010 at UC Davis, shows a live bee next to his bee pin. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Kim Flottum: Friend of Beekeepers and Bees

December 11th, 2023
We are saddened to hear of the death of Peter "Kim" Flottum, longtime editor of Bee Culture magazine, a friend of the nation's beekeepers and bee scientists, and a close friend of the UC Davis bee community. A resident of Medina, Ohio, Kim died Sunday, Dec. 10 at his home of lung cancer at age 76.
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A monarch caterpillar sharing a milkweed leaf with oleander aphids on Dec. 8, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Monarch 'Cats Sleeping with the Aphids

December 8th, 2023
Sleeping with the aphids...that's what this monarch caterpillar was doing. It lived--and quite hidden at that--through the freezing cold, the rain, and the wind. It surfaced today on a milkweed in our Vacaville pollinator garden.
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