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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. 

This work, "The Siege of Vicksburg--Assault on Fort Hill," is by Swedish-born American illustrator Thure de Thulstrup (1848-1930), whom his contemporary critics considered "the foremost military artist in America." (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Malaria, Memorial Day and Memories of the Civil War

May 29, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Every Memorial Day, I especially remember my great-grandfather, Samuel Davidson Laughlin (1843-1910), a Civil War color bearer who contracted malaria during the Siege of Vicksburg (May 18 -July 4, 1863). The soldiers called the mosquitoes "gallinippers.
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A katydid nymph nestled in a baby blue eyes blossom, Nemophila menziesii, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Katydid: She Did, She Didn't, and Then She Did

May 26, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
In the blink of an eye... There it was, nestled inside a baby blue eyes blossom, Nemophila menziesii, which is a spring-blooming plant native to California, Oregon and Baja California. "It?" A katydid nymph, a wingless critter with long black-and-white banded antennae.
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A crane fly resting in a Spanish lavender bed in Vacaville, Calif. Crane flies are sometimes called "mosquito eaters," but they do not eat mosquitoes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Those Goofy-Looking Cartoon Characters Called Crane Flies

May 25, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Back in April of 2021, we wrote: "They're out there, and you don't have to crane your neck to see them." The topic: crane flies. They're often mistakenly called "mosquito eaters" or "mosquito hawks." They're neither. They're members of the family Tipulidae of the order Diptera (flies).
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A flameskimmer, Libellula saturata, perches on a bamboo stick in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

First Flameskimmer of the Year

May 24, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was a little late. The first flameskimmer of the year usually arrives in our yard in early April. Not this year. The species, Libellula saturata, was late. The easily recognized red dragonfly, also known as "the firecracker skimmer," touched down in our yard today, May 24.
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