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.

The egg of the California dogface butterfly, Zerene eurydice. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas)

Bohart Open House: Celebrating the California Dogface Butterfly

July 15, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What's the story behind how and why the California dogface butterfly was designated as the state insect 50 years ago? That story will be among the highlights of the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house from 1 to 4 p.m.

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A female Melissodes agilis foraging on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Meet a Longhorned Bee

July 14, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Picture this. A female Melissodes agilis, the so-called "agile longhorned bee," is foraging on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. Longhorned? So named because they have unusually long antennae.

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A common checkered skipper, Pyrgus communis, warming its flight muscles in Vacaville, Calif., on July 3, 2022. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Butterfly: The Gateway Bug to Entomology?

July 13, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

A retired Fairfield elementary school teacher says that butterflies are the "gateway bug" to entomology. It's the symmetry, the beauty, the agility, he says. He's right. So, forget about the old adage, "stop and smell the roses" (although that's good, too).

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UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal receives congratules from NAI officials, Elizabeth Lea Doughtery and president Paul Sanberg. (Courtesy Photo)

Congrats to NAI Fellow UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal

July 12, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Congrats to UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Soares Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and a former chair of the Department of Entomology, on his induction as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

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And the tour of the California dogface butterfly habitat begins. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Land of Z (Zerene) and The Land of B (Bohart)

July 11, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Friday, June 10 proved to be a great day in "The Land of Z," and Saturday, July 16 promises to be a great day in the "Land of B." The Land of Z? It's the home or major breeding ground of Zerene eurydice, the California dogface butterfly, the state insect.

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