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.

A leafcutter bee, family Megachilidae, peers at the photographer. "Here I am! It's National Pollinator Week." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hello There, Little Leafcutter Bee

June 20, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Hello there, little leafcutter bee! Yes, you, foraging on the sky-blue Chinese Forget-Me-Nots! You're just in time for National Pollinator Week! Leafcutter bees, family Megachilidae, are so named because the females cut leaves and petals (perfectly round holes!) to line their nests.

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Lady beetles, aka ladybugs, are among the most recognizable of insects, but most people never see them take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Congrats to These Top UC Davis Graduating Seniors in Entomology

June 19, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

How many of us can trace our childhood interest in insects back to lady beetles, aka ladybugs? They're among the most recognizable of insects.

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Meet Dr. Charlotte Herbert Alberts and her family: her husband George, and their children, Griffin, 3, and Marcy, 7 months.

The Day that Mama Became a Wizard

June 16, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Mortarboards are really "wizard hats." Just ask Griffin Alberts, 3, whose mother, Charlotte Herbert Alberts, received her doctorate in entomology June 15 at the UC Davis Graduate Studies Program commencement ceremony in the University Credit Union Center.

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Leaving...

June 15, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's 3:47 p.m., on Sunday, June 4. I am watching a honey bee nectaring on a zinnia in our pollinator garden. She collects, lingers and then leaves. It was like (A) Apis mellifera to (Z) zinnia.

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A clerk at McCormack Hall, Solano County Fair, displays two junior division photos: one of a honey bee by Jesse Means of Dixon, and the other of a orange-tip butterfly by Regan Van Tuyl of Dixon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Solano County Fair, June 15-18: Bees, Butterflies and More

June 14, 2023

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You might not expect to see Anthocharis sara sara in McCormack Hall during the 74th annual Solano County Fair, Vallejo, June 15-18. But you will. It's a photograph titled "Painted Wings" by Regan Van Tuyl, 13 of Dixon.

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