Bug Blog
About Those Jumping Spiders!
Every day should be Spider Appreciation Day, but especially on Halloween. Ophthalmologist and professor Ivan Schwab of the UC Davis Health System says that spiders “get a bad rap. Few...
Jumping spider peering between the petals of a yellow rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of jumping spider as it emerges from its hiding place. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of jumping spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The prey (honey bee) that the predator (jumping spider) was seeking. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bees, Parasites and Maybe the End?
Thursday, Nov. 7 promises to be an exciting day for the Northern California Entomology Society--a great presentation by UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Leslie Saul-Gershenz, who researches how...
A digger bee, Habropoda pallida, with blister beetle larvae. (Photo by Leslie Saul-Gershenz)
What Will It Bee?
What will it be? Wear bees or eat insects? Let’s do both! UC ANR Vice-President Barbara Allen-Diaz promises to wear bees—honey bees—if she can raise $2500 by Thursday, Oct. 31 for...
Norm Gary in his bee suit. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Jumping up and down will dislodge the bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
We're Not Perfect
We're not perfect. Mother Nature isn't, either. For several weeks, we've been rearing Gulf Fritilliary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae). We purchased a butterfly habitat from the Bohart Museum...
A crippled Gulf Fritillary butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A possible mate checks out the crippled butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
We placed the crippled Gulf Fritillary on a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sparkle and Shine!
Poet Gertrude Stein, who coined "A rose is a rose is a rose," probably would have liked it. Julia Child, maybe not. We purchased a "Sparkle and Shine" yellow rose, related to the Julia Child Rose,...
A drone fly heads for a Sparkle and Shine blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A drone fly prepares for its descent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Heading out, a drone fly pauses before take-off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)