Bug Squad

A daily (M-F) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008 and about the wonderful world of insects and those who study them. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Professor Eileen Hebets of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, is the co-host of the Bohart Museum open house. (Photo by Craig Chandler, University Communication, University of Nebraska)

Arachnid Alert! 'Powerhouse' of Arachnologists to Greet Public at Bohart Museum Open House

June 7, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Arachnid alert! A free, public open house on Eight-Legged Encounters, featuring spiders and other arachnids, promises to be one of the biggest events--if not the leggiest!--of the year on the UC Davis campus and beyond. The event, set from 1 to 4 p.m.

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In this image, taken Aug. 1, 2008, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (left) talks to vanpool driver Keir Reavie, head of the Biological and Agriculture Sciences Department at Shields Library, about the bees that "hitched" a ride on a commuter van traveling from El Cerrito to the UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Honey of a Ride and a Whale of a Legacy

June 6, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It was a honey of a ride. My inaugural Bug Squad blog on Aug. 6, 2008 dealt with a swarm of bees that "hitched" a ride on Aug. 1 from El Cerrito to UC Davis on a commuter van. "At 7 a.m., a group of UC Davis employees approached their commuter van in an El Cerrito parking lot.

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Tour leader Dylan Winkler, bumble bee scientific aide for the CDFWs Wildlife Diversity Program, checks out a bumble bee species. At left is UC Davis doctoral entomology candidate Daniele Rutkowski. (Photo by Cindy McReynolds)

California Bumble Bee Atlas: What Citizens Found on a UC Davis Bumble Bee Walk

June 3, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

A recent two-hour Bumble Bee Walk," sponsored by the California Bumble Bee Atlas in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, proved fruitful.

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A European wool carder bee in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

European Wool Carder Bees Are on the Move

June 2, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Seen any European wool carder bees lately? European wool carder bees (so named because the female collects or cards plant hairs for their nests) are on the move. The bees, about the size of honey bees, are mostly black and yellow.

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A sulphur butterfly, Colias eurytheme, and a honey bee, Apis mellifera, meet on lavender. The butterfly is a male, as identified by Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Bee and the Butterfly

June 1, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The bee and the butterfly. Or, Apis mellifera and Colias eurytheme. One's a beneficial insect. That would "bee" the honey bee. The other is a yellow and white butterfly, striking in appearance, but in its larval stage, it's a major pest of alfalfa.

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