Bug Blog
'Show Me the Honey' and 'Show Me the Bugs' at UC Davis Picnic Day
It wouldn't be a picnic without bugs. They are, you know, everywhere. However, when the 103rd annual UC Davis Picnic Day takes place Saturday, April 22, you'll find them primarily at the UC...
There will be lots to see during Picnic Day at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. These butterflies are among the museum's nearly 8 million insect specimens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A visitor at the Bohart Museum takes an image of a tarantula. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lynn Kimsey (left), director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and UC Davis professor of entomology, talks to visitors at a UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey tasting is a popular event at UC Davis Picnic Day and is in the running for a special award, determined by popular vote. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Briggs Hall, home of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, draws some 3000 to 4000 visitors during the annual UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
'B' Is for Bugs: Bugs at the Bohart and Briggs
"B" is for bugs. Bugs at the Bohart and Briggs. That would be the Bohart Museum of Entomology and Briggs Hall. Both buildings will be the site of many insect-related activities planned by the UC...
Honey bees at work in the UC Davis bee observation hive, to be displayed April 22 in Briggs Hall during the 103rd annual UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
You can learn the ABCs of honey bees at Briggs Hall on Saturday, April 22, during the UC Davis annual Picnic Day. These bees are from a UC Davis bee observation hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Insect Wedding Photography in a Rose Garden
"I do! I do! I do!" Some of us engage in wedding photography. Not with humans. With insects. All you need is a bride, a groom and a…hmm…bedroom. That could be a leafy green bedroom...
Love in the rose garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bridal couple heads for some privacy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Don't let a thorn get in your way. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The view is better over here. I think I see an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Just need a pillow of rose petals for the night. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey. All images taken with a Nikon D800 and a macro lens, 105mm)
A Chance Encounter with an Ichneumon
So here's this lady beetle patrolling a rosebud. It's early spring--April 15--in Vacaville, Calif.--and our little subject is looking for some tasty aphids. Or perhaps a mate. Oh, a visitor is...
A lady beetle meeets a male parasitic wasp from the family Ichneumonidae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The lady beetle continues to patrol the rosebud, while the male parasitic wasp quickly leaves the scene. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Can Lady Beetle Larvae Eat Aphids?
Can the larvae of lady beetles (aka ladybugs) eat aphids? Yes, they can. And yes, they do. We spotted some lady beetle larvae on our yellow roses today and guess what they were doing? Right,...
Close-up of a lady beetle larva eating an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
From a distance, you can see the ladybug larva and a lot of aphids on this yellow rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A multicolored Asian lady beetle prowls a yellow rose bush in search of aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The lady beetle lays her tiny eggs in clusters beneath a leaf. These are probably the eggs of a multicolored Asian lady beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)