Bug Squad Logo

Bug Squad

Bug Squad blog image depicts a honey bee sting in action.

Welcome to the Bug Squad blog! The Bug Squad blog was launched Aug. 6, 2008 and is a daily blog (Monday through Friday). It showcases entomologists and the work they do.  The blog focuses on scientists in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, the UC Davis Bee Haven, and assorted campuswide events, including UC Davis Picnic Day, UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, and Bohart Museum open houses. The blog spotlights insects, including bees, butterflies, dragonflies, and praying mantises, as well as arachnids such as jumping spiders and crab spiders. Author and photographer is Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and a longtime journalist and community scientist with two degrees from Washington State University.  She is a member of the Entomological Society of America (ESA) and the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE). Her blog posts and images have won international awards from ACE and ESA and appeared on journal and magazine covers. She shoots primarily with a Nikon Z-8 mirrorless camera, a Nikon D500 and Nikon 800, with assorted macro lenses. Feedspot lists it as one of the top entomology blogs on the Internet. 

Primary Image
A European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, has just shredded a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar and is about to take the prey to her colony. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Quick, Get Your Camera Ready! There's a Wasp!

January 19, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Quick, get your camera ready! There's a wasp! Ever heard anyone say that? We remember capturing an image of a European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, that had just shredded a caterpillar and was about to fly the prey back to her colony. It was a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar, Agraulis vanillae.
View Article
Primary Image
The makings of a European paper wasp nest in Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart Museum: How to Make a Paper Wasp Nest

January 18, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When the Bohart Museum of Entomology hosts an open house on "Social Wasps" from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 20, the traditional family art-and-crafts activity will be something special.
View Article
Primary Image
A cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, sipping nectar on catmint (Nepeta). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Beer for a Butterfly? No Winner Yet!

January 17, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
As of today, Jan. 17, no one has won the Beer-for-a-Butterfly contest sponsored by butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus of the Department of Evolution and Ecology.
View Article
Primary Image
A bigeyed bug on the wing of a monarch butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bigeyed Bug and a Monarch Butterfly

January 16, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
You've heard folks call insects "big 'ol bugs" (often in astonishment or terror), right? But have you ever seen a "bigeyed bug on a monarch butterfly?" Bigeyed bugs, Geocoris spp.
View Article
Primary Image
A honey bee and a Western yellowjacket meet on a rose at a UC Davis bee garden. Both are pollinators. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wasps: Fascinating Insects But Often Demonized

January 15, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you hate wasps, and brush them off as just "uninvited guests at my picnic," take another look. For one, they're pollinators. Two, they're great predators, contributing to the biocontrol of such lepidopteran pests as cabbageworms (larva of cabbage white butterflies).
View Article