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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. Feedspot lists it as one of the top entomology blogs on the Internet. 

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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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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