Entomology Content

This Single Mother Must Learn Quickly — Or Her Colony Won’t Survive

Andy Fell — May 15, 2026 - 12:28pm

Being a single mother of 20 is no joke, especially if the survival of a whole species depends on it.

A queen bumblebee faces this very challenge when she lays her first eggs in the spring: She is utterly alone, with no worker bees to help.

She flies miles each day, collecting nectar to feed her young. She builds a protective nursery from wax. When she’s not out foraging, she climbs atop her larvae and buzzes to warm them.

Egghead Weekend Basket for April 3

Andy Fell — April 03, 2026 - 2:50pm

Back from Spring Break, here's a roundup of 51�ԹϺ�� Davis research news from the past week.

No, They Don’t Eat Mosquitoes

Andy Fell — March 30, 2026 - 3:38pm

Some folks call them "Mosquito Hawks" or "Daddy Long Legs" or "Skeeter Eaters." But they're not hawks, they're not arachnids, and they don't eat mosquitoes. They are crane flies, members of the family Tipulidae of the order Diptera (flies).

With the temperatures rising, crane flies are everywhere right now, looking for mates. They are landing on your plants, bumping into walls and windows, and getting tangled (and eaten) in spider webs.

Helping Beekeepers Fight Mites Through More Effective Treatments

Katherine E Kerlin — February 19, 2026 - 2:18pm

Researchers from the USDA and 51�ԹϺ�� Davis are helping beekeepers protect their colonies from destructive varroa mites through a promising new line of research.

Mirror Image Pheromones Help Beetles Swipe Right

Andy Fell — February 18, 2026 - 5:26pm

There are many ways to communicate with prospective romantic partners: If you are a Japanese scarab beetle, it’s a matter of distinguishing left from right. New work from U.S. and Chinese scientists, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows how these beetles use mirror-image pheromones to find a mate. The work could lead to better monitoring and control of significant agricultural pests.

New Species of Spider Discovered, Just in Time for Halloween

Amy M Quinton — October 29, 2025 - 9:24am

51�ԹϺ�� Davis scientists have discovered a new species of trapdoor spider in California's coastal sand dunes.

Population Decline of Franklin’s Bumble Bee Wasn’t Due to Pathogens, Museum Genomic Research Shows

Andy Fell — October 20, 2025 - 3:38pm

Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) once inhabited a remote area spanning northern California and southern Oregon. But the bee’s numbers declined sharply after 1998 and it hasn’t been seen at all since 2006. A new study of the DNA of museum specimens, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests this decline was most likely due to population bottlenecks and environmental issues such as fire and drought rather than infectious diseases.

Student Entomologists Gain Hands-On Skills in Insect Biology

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 28, 2024 - 9:00am

Discover how student researchers are gaining hands-on biology and entomology skills and protecting pollinators through the Insect Scholars Program.

For This Beetle, ‘Date Night’ Comes Every Other Day

Andy Fell — January 18, 2024 - 8:00am

Life on Earth runs on a 24-hour cycle as the planet turns. Animals and plants have built-in circadian clocks that synchronize metabolism and behavior to this daily cycle. But one beetle is out of sync with the rest of nature.

Climate Catastrophe Produced Instantaneous Evolutionary Change

Andy Fell — October 12, 2023 - 4:19pm

Catastrophic hurricane rainfall provides evidence of spatial sorting as a mechanism for evolution as an alternative to natural selection.