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 monarch nectaring on tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tropical Milkweed Doesn't Deserve the Bad Rap

October 10, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Fact: Milkweed is the host plant of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. Fact: Without milkweed, no monarchs. Yet a milkweed species that's been thriving in California for more than a century is getting a bad rap.

View Article

The Mexican fruit fly is a serious pest of grapefruit and mango.

Targeting the Mexican Fruit Fly and Other Tephritid Pests

October 7, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

California citrus growers, especially those who grow grapefruit, hate this pest, Anastrepha ludens, the Mexican fruit fly or Mexfly.

View Article

Mary Foley (later Mary Foley Benson) at work as a scientific illustrator with the USDA. This image was taken in 1926 when she was 21.

Zeroing in on the Life of Scientific Illustrator Mary Foley Benson

October 6, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The late Mary Foley Benson would have been proud.

View Article

A male monarch arrives Oct. 3 to nectar Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Monarch Who Arrived Late for Dinner

October 5, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Never be late for dinner or it might be all gone. Take the case of the Mexican sunflowers, Tithonia rotundifola, that we planted last April for the monarchs. Monarchs seem to favor Tithonia more than any other nectar source in our pollinator garden.

View Article

A praying mantis hanging out on a cleveland sage, Salvia clevelandii, at the UC Davis Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

So, You've Planted a Bee Garden--Now What? Enroll in This UC Davis Class

October 4, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

So, you've planted a bee garden, and you're looking at it and thinking "Okay, now what?" You'll want to register for a class on "I Planted a Bee Garden: Now What?," offered Saturday, Oct. 29 by the UC Davis Bee Haven, part of the Department of Entomology and Nematology.

View Article