Bug Blog
Got Milk (Weed) for the Bees?
Folks are planting milkweed for the monarchs. The milkweed (genus Asclepias) is the host plant (larval food) for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). No wonder the monarch is sometimes called...
Honey bee foraging on milkweed in the UC Davis Arboretum, near Mrak Hall. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Walk down the garden path, lined with milkweed, and sit on the bench in the UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Nectar Robbers
If you have a patch of salvia (sage) growing in your yard, watch for the nectar robbers. Carpenter bees are among the insects that engage in nectar robbing. They drill a hole in the corolla of the...
Mountain carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, engaging in nectar robbing. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of nectar robbing by mountain carpenter bee on salvia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee looks for the hole drilled by a carpenter bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee engaging in nectar robbing. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
You, Too, Can Be a Scientist!
You don't have to be a citizen to be a "citizen scientist," and you don't have to be a scientist to be a citizen. But "citizen scientist" is a catchy term, all the same. Basically, it's the public...
Formica moki, a native ant, frequents Yolo County gardens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee and a velvety tree ant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Knowing About Knowland Park's Biodiversity
It's all about knowing the biodiversity in Knowland Park. And trying to save it from development. Scientists and citizen-scientists will gather Sunday, June 1 in the western highlands of the...
Eddie Dunbar, founder and president of the Insect Sciences Museum of California, photographs insects.
Entomologist Eddie Dunbar will lead an insect survey of Knowland Park.
The Boy Bumble Bee
Don't you just love watching bumble bees? This morning we watched a yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) foraging on lavender. It moved quickly from one blossom to another, barely...
A male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, appears to be "resting" on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Another view of the male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of the male yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lavender is what it's all about. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Peek-a-bee! The male bumble bee peers over a blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)