Bug Squad Logo

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. 

Postdoctoral researcher Severyn Korneyev, a Ukrainian entomologist who studies flies, discusses insects with guests. On the screen is a Jerusalem cricket, also known as a potato bug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Learning About Wasps and Other Insects

September 30, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
They came to learn about wasps--"The Weird and Wonderful Wasps"--at the recent open house hosted by the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. They learned about such wasps as the Asian giant hornet (aka "murder hornets"), pteromalids, and fig wasps.
View Article
At the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Dr. Ismail Seker and his wife, Esin, stand in front of the Turkish flag and a card indicating how to say "insect" in the Turkish language. The Bohart Museum spotlights a global collection of flags, as well as how to say "insect" in many languages. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How Do You Say 'Insect' in the Turkish Language?

September 28, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
How do you say "insect" in the Turkish language? That's a question posed by the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, on its wall display of global flags and languages. That was an easy question for Dr.
View Article
A beautiful gravid praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, is right at home in the lantana. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Prey Tell, Where Are All the Mantids?

September 27, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Prey tell, where are all the praying mantids? Last fall, a Stagmomantis limbata deposited her egg case, or ootheca, on a clothespin on our outdoor clothesline. On April 9, the clothespin sprang to life. Hundreds of nymphs emerged, scrambled away, and vanished.
View Article
Subscribe