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.

Inside a honey bee colony. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Congrats to Honey Bee Geneticist Rob Page!

October 28, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Congratulations to UC Davis-trained bee scientist Robert E. Page Jr., recipient of the 2022 Exceptional Emeriti Faculty Award from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES).

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A queen bumble bee, Bombus vosenenskii, sipping nectar from an ice plant at Bodega Bay on Oct. 19, 2022. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Well, Hello There, Queen Bumble Bee!

October 27, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

So, there she is, an out-of-season queen bumble bee, Bombus vosenenskii, nectaring on an equally out-of-season ice plant blossom at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay. The yellow-faced bumble bee bursts from a neon pink blossom in the video below. It's Oct.

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This entry accepted into the 2021 International Insect Salon features Gulf Fritillaries, Agraulis vanillae, and is titled "Keeping Busy." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Like to Photograph and Share Images of Bugs?

October 26, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you like to photograph and share images of bugs, this is for you. Submissions are open for the 64th Annual International Insect Salon, hosted by the Peoria Camera Club of Illinois.

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A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, on Monday, Oct. 24 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Seen Any Monarchs Lately? They're Stopping for Flight Fuel

October 25, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Seen any monarchs lately? A beautiful male glided into our Vacaville garden late yesterday and made himself at home on our Mexican sunflowers, Tithonia rotundifola. He claimed the patch--"mine, all mine, all mine!"--until a honey bee buzzed by looking for nectar.

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Yao Cai dressed as a fruit fly to play the drums in The Entomology Band at the 2018 UC Davis Picnic Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Time Flies, But How Do Flies Tell Time? Ask Yao Cai

October 24, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you attended the 2018 campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day and headed over to see the insects at Briggs Hall, home of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, you may have seen an enthusiastic drummer performing in The Entomology Band.

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