Bug Squad

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.

An Anise Swallowtail, sipping nectar from a red zinnia, seems unaware of a buzzing honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee-Butterfly Battle Over a Zinnia

September 5, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

An Anise Swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, settles on a red zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden and begins sipping the nectar. A honey bee buzzes by. Was she just passing through or did she want the same nectar? The bee brushes the butterfly's wings. Okay! I'm leaving! Score: Bee, 1; butterfly 0.

View Article

A honey bee, packing a load of orange pollen, buzzes over a red zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Celebrating the Honey Bee on Labor Day

September 4, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's Labor Day but "The Girls" continue to work. "The Girls" are the honey bees, a great example of a matriarchal society.

View Article

A male Melissodes agilis barreling over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Let's Roll!

September 1, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Let's roll! During the golden hour, right before sunset, have you ever watched a male longhorned bee roll full-barrel over a flower at Top Gun speed? During the day, the male longhorned target assorted insects foraging on "their" patch of flowers.

View Article

Posing for a celebratory photo are five mural participants with Chancellor Gary May and UC Davis distinguished professor Diane Ullman. From left are Kerry Lin, Sierra Deaver, Alia Tu, Chancellor May, Zoe Meilandt, Lily Nugent and Professor Ullman. (Photo courtesy of Jael Mackendorf, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences)

The Magic of a Mural

August 31, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The magic of a mural! It was quite a celebration during the unveiling of a UC Davis ceramic-mosaic mural, The Secret Life of Vineyards, took place at a Napa Valley organic vineyard.

View Article

Community ecologist Louie Yang, professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, has received a campuswide UC Davis Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Congrats to Outstanding Advisor and Mentor Louie Yang!

August 30, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Congratulations to community ecologist Louie Yang, a UC Davis professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology and chair of the Entomology Graduate Program, He is one of 33 recipients of the 2023 UC Davis Graduate Program Advising and Mentoring Awards.

View Article