Bug Squad

The Sting. (c) Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Bug Squad blog, by Kathy Keatley Garvey of the University of California, Davis, is a daily (Monday-Friday) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008. It is about the wonderful world of insects and the entomologists who study them. Blog posts are archived at https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/index.cfm. The story behind "The Sting" is here: https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7735.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Two female praying mantes, Stagmomantis limbata, encounter one another on a potted plant in Vacaville. (Cell phone image by Mike Castro)
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'This Hanging Pot Ain't Big Enough for Both of Us!'

October 30, 2023
"This hanging potted plant ain't big enough for both of us!" That's what a female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, seemed to be warning when she encountered another female on "her" hanging potted plant. So, how do you beat the competition? You defeat 'em and then you eat 'em.
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A jumping spider stares at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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A Treat for the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day

October 27, 2023
Trick or treat? Treat, please, says this jumping spider. It's time to jump in to help the 13th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day crowdunding project. It's a Super Science Day to be held Saturday, Feb. 10 on the UC Davis campus. It's a free and family friendly event.
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This is a Calisoga spider that Rodrigo Monjaraz-Ruedas will discuss at the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar on Oct. 30. (Photo by arachnologist Marshal Hedin, San Diego State University)
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Gotta Love Those Spiders

October 25, 2023
Gotta love those spiders! What, you don't? They scare you? And you scream? Fear not. Arachnologists will set the record straight. (Maybe not your scream, though!) Just in time for Halloween, the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar will be on spiders.
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