Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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HONEY BEES are nectaring outside the Western Apicultural Society conference in Healdsburg. The key subject at the conference: bee health. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Helping the Honey Bees

August 19th, 2009
The Western Apicultural Society (WAS) conference, taking place this week in the Dry Creek Inn, Healdsburg, is drawing a lot of interest. Extension Apiculturist Eric Mussen, member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, is finishing his yearlong term as president of WAS.
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FIERY SKIPPER (Hylephila phyleus) nectaring catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Fighter Jet

August 18th, 2009
Look for the fiery skipper (Hylephila phyleus) in your garden. It's likely sharing your catmint, lavender and sage with honey bees and other pollinators. It's the only one holding a "fighter-jet" position.
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WITH TONGUE EXTENDED, Anthophora urbana heads for lavender. It's known as a rapid forager. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Tiny Bee

August 17th, 2009
It's smaller than a honey bee. And faster and louder. Anthophora urbana, a solitary, ground-nesting bee, frequents our garden to nectar the catmint, lavender and sage. Sometimes the forager's buzz is so loud that it's startling.
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THIS IMAGE of the Western Tiger Swallowtail is by naturalist/photographer Greg Kareofelas, who took this in east Davis last week. Butterfly experts hadn't seen this butterfly in the Davis area for 15 years until this year.
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Tiger by the Tail

August 14th, 2009
Talk about a tiger by the tail. That would be the Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). It's returned to the Davis area after a 15-year hiatus.
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SIGN in front of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis honors the legendary geneticist. The ceramic sculpture at the site (sign and walls) is the work of Davis artist Donna Billick and entomologist-artist Diane Ullman. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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The Bees Have It

August 13th, 2009
The bees have it. That would be honey bees and native bees. The UC Davis Department of Entomology has just launched its new bee biology Web site.
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