Bug Blog
Better Statistics for the Bees
The bees. What about the bees? How are they doing? Better, says retired Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, who today published the last...
A honey bee foraging on a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A sip of nectar from a zinnia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Those Foxy Wool Carder Bees
Foxgloves, meet the European wool carder bee. European wool carder bee, meet the foxgloves. It's like "old home week" when these two get together. The plant (Digitalis purpurea) and the bee...
Male European wool carder bee heads for a foxglove. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
What's inside? This male European carder bee is investigating. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey(
Male European carder bee (right) targeting a honey bee that is seeking nectar from a hole drilled by a carpenter bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
European wool carder bee nestled inside a foxglove. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
How to Train Your Praying Mantis
We've trained puppies to "come," "sit" and "heel." We've trained an African grey parrot to say "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty! Meow!" We've trained the kitty to ignore the parrot. But how do you train...
Praying mantis stretches in the African blue basil. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A little aerobics under the cosmos, as a bee does a flyover. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's not "Say cheese!" It's "Say bee!" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Will Hummingbird Syrup Harm the Bees?
It's no secret that honey bees like the sugar/water mixture in hummingbird feeders. If there's no bee guard on the feeder or if the feeder isn't bee-proofed, bees will sip the mixture. They also will...
A honey bee sipping syrup from a hummingbird feeder. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A hummingbird pauses in between sips. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bad Day for a Bee
It was a good day to be a praying mantis. It was not a good day to be a honey bee. Just before noon today, we watched a green praying mantis lurking in the African blue basil, like a camouflaged...
A praying mantis snares a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The leafcutter bee targets the praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The leafcutter bee nearly slams into the mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis keeps eating. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis polishes off the last morsel. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)