Bug Squad

A daily (M-F) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008 and about the wonderful world of insects and those who study them. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle, aka ladybug, gets ready to devour an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lady Beetle Lovers, Unite!

April 11, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Luck be a lady! Little kids love selecting lady beetles, aka ladybugs, at the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) booth at Briggs Hall during the annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day. The excitement, the capture, the I-get-to-take-these-home-and-put-them-in-my-garden look.

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So many colors to choose from! A young artist working on his Maggot Art. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Maggot Art at UC Davis Picnic Day: Just Me and My Maggot

April 10, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Do you like to blend science with art, or is there a budding young artist in your family? Then you may want to create Maggot Art, a hands-on activity offered by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology during the 109th annual UC Davis Picnic Day celebration on Saturday, April 15.

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A sick bee crawling on a leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

USDA-ARS Researcher Targeting Honey Bee Health Decline

April 7, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're interested in the honey bee health decline--and you should be--then you'll want to listen to what research associate Christopher Mayack of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Davis, says about "Chemical Biomarkers and the Physiological Underpinnings of Honey Bee Health Decline"...

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Colonial Isoxya manangona n. sp. from Andasibe, Madagascar. (a) A part of a colony with 79 spiders in 41 webs (image shows 23 webs). (b) A detail from another colony where females are in their individual webs (image shows 14 of the 16 webs in the colony) while males hang on line in between webs (image shows 12 males). (c) A detail of another colony showing male leks. These males showed no overt intrasexual aggression that would be typical of solitary spiders. (Insect Systematics and Diversity)

UC Davis Spider Experts Analyze Genetics of Newly Described Spider That Engages in Lekking Behavior

April 6, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Have you heard about the newly described kite spider species in Madagascar that is drawing worldwide attention for its lekking behavior?

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A honey bee foraging on a California golden poppy. Urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke is one of the researchers involved in the Seed Pile Project, a community science initiative by Miridae Living Labs and UC Davis faculty. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Emily Meineke: An Incredible and Well-Deserved Honor

April 5, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's an incredible and well-deserved honor. UC Davis urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke has been selected an Early Career Fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA).

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