Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
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A HONEY BEE targets almond blossoms, a sign that spring can't be far behind. However, 2009 will be a challenging year for both almond growers and beekeepers, according to UC Davis apiculturist Eric Mussen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Challenging Year for Almond Growers, Beekeepers

February 9th, 2009
UC Davis Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty for 32 years, says this looks like a challenging year for almond growers. There's this water problem. Think "drought." There's this honey bee crisis.
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IN THE LAB--UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes works in the lab. His research on the apple maggot and a parasitic wasp will be published Feb. 6 in the journal Science. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Biodiversity Creates Biodiversity

February 5th, 2009
Biodiversity creates biodiversity. That point comes through loud and clear when you read the scientific paper on the apple maggot/parasitic wasp research led by UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes. The news embargo lifted at 11 a.m. today and the research will be published Friday, Feb.
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THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS--The nymph (bright red) of the soapberry bug scurries down a tree trunk. (Photo by James Moerhke)
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Shoulder to Shoulder

February 4th, 2009
Vacaville resident James Moehrke was out geocaching last weekend in the Vaca Valley Parkway-East Monte Vista Avenue area of the city when he spotted some red-shouldered black bugs. "There were many clusters, probably thousands of individuals, in the trees and a few on the ground," he recalled.
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