Entomologists thought the Brazilian bee Plebeia emerina had disappeared in California in the 1950s. But two colonies were rediscovered in Palo Alto in 2013, and now a four-year-old has found two more.
Tag: bugs
The Importance of Having Insects
A number of sensational new papers warn of a global insect die-off. Has the apocalypse arrived in Northern California?
Insecta-Palooza Takes the Creepy out of Lots of Crawlies
With Halloween right around the corner, it’s only natural to think of cobwebs and hairy creatures lurking in dark places. Just the thought of these creepy, crawling, eight-legged, web tangling, multi-eyed arachnids can frighten even the toughest individuals. Even yours truly. Luckily, the third installment of Sonoma State University’s Insecta-Palooza is here to remind us that these crawlers aren’t so creepy after all.
Ticked Off
Ticks can be trouble, yet you can’t help but admire their toughness as they cling to vegetation waiting for a meal to come within arm’s length. Fortunately for us, some of those meals come from western fence lizards, whose blood neutralizes the pathogen that causes Lyme disease. Now that’s a handy bit of natural selection!
Fall is the Season When Garden Spiders Live Large
Look in your backyard right now, and there’s a decent chance you’ll see the ornate webs of our local orbweaver spiders. After feeding on insects all spring and summer, banded garden spiders and yellow garden spiders get big and very noticeable in fall, just before they lay their eggs and die.
Bugs at the Randall Museum
What do grigs, mantids, lace-wings, and damselflies have in common? They’re all bugs, and now’s your chance to learn more about all of them. San Francisco’s Randall Museum is featuring a free, interactive exhibit entitled “Bugs! Bugs! Bugs!” through mid-September. … Read more
