Posts Tagged: Entomology Today
Bugs and Beat: Talented UC Davis Graduate Students Form Insect-Themed Band
If you missed hearing The Entomology Band performing in front of Briggs Hall during the recent UC Davis Picnic Day, not to worry. They're featured in a recent Entomology Today blog, published by the Entomological Society of America (and written by yours truly) and headlined "Bugs and...
Yao-“Fruit-Fly”-Cai has been playing drums since age 17. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Entomology Band performing in front of Briggs Hall. From left are Jill Oberski, Zach Griebenow, Brendon Boudinot, Yao Cai, Wei Lin, Jackson Audley and Christine Tabuloc.
Group photo: In front is Yao Cai. The three in the second row are (from left) Jill Oberski, Brendon Boudinot and Christine Tabuloc. In back (from left) are Zachary Griebenow, Jackson Audley and Wei Lin.
Of Butterfly Patterns and Genetic Codes
Who knew? You've probably watched those colorful painted ladies (Vanessa cardui) fluttering about in your yard, but have you read the newly published research about their wing color patterns and genetic codes? In researching the color patterns and the genes responsible for those patterns,...
A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, on lantana in Vacaville, Calif. Now researchers at the University of Manitoba have identified the genetic code by which butterflies can assign color patterns to different parts of their wings during development. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A painted lady, Vanessa cardui, nectaring on lantana in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The presence of a predator startles a painted lady, Vanessa cardui. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Yes, It Happens: Sexual Cannibalism in Praying Mantids
Yes, it happens. We've heard the stories and read some of the scientific literature about what a female praying mantis will do to her partner during the mating process. Sexual cannibalism. She'll bite the head off of her mate and eat it--but the mating process continues unabated. (Except the male...
A mating pair of praying mantids. At left is the male, soon to lose his head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The headless male lived about eight hours. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of the headless male. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
About that Pollen...
Why is that in a honey bee colony, workers can carry pollen but not the queen? Well, scientists from Michigan State University and Wayne State University have discovered the answer. They've isolated the gene that's responsible for leg and wing development, according to a news brief...
Honey bee packing pollen on an almond tree at UC Davis--on the grounds of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility-- several years ago. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Now that's a load of pollen! Honey bee inside a pomegranate blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)