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 male long-horned bee, Melissodes agilis, chases a female of the species over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Chase

October 5, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you've ever tried to photograph male long-horned bees, Melissodes agilis, you know how fast they can fly and how quick they can dart. They fly even faster when they're chasing the females of their species. It was the last day of June.

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The cancer research was based in the laboratories of physician-researcher Dipak Panigrahy (left) of Harvard Medical School and UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock, who holds a joint appointment with the Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. They are shown here at a recent conference.

Harvard, UC Davis and Ionova Researchers: Hammock Lab Drug May Help Pancreatic and Liver Cancer Patients

October 4, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

(This news blog is affiliated with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

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Ecologist and research scientist Maria Silvina Fenoglio (shown here on a green roof) will present a virtual seminar, hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, on "Do Green Roofs Benefit Urban Arthropod Communities? Evidence from a South American City," at 4:10 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 6.

Ecologist from Argentina to Give UC Davis Virtual Seminar on Arthropods and Green Roofs

October 1, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

A green roof, commonly described as "living roof" or "a vegetative or eco-roof," is an increasingly popular installation on a wide range of buildings.

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This is part of the Bohart Museum of Entomology collection that will be gifted to Atatürk University, Turkey. (Bohart Museum photo)

A Welcoming Gift from the Bohart Museum to Atatürk University, Turkey

September 30, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, is helping to spread the biodiversity of insects.

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Human hibernation and longevity will be the topic of UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey's quest for research papers. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An Entomologist's Novel Idea: He'll Pay for Equivalent of 'Term Papers'

September 29, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Have you ever written a well-researched A-plus term paper and commented "I wish I could have been paid for that!" Well, now you can. A UC Davis professor will pay you--if you're a top-notch UC Davis student--to write (the equivalent of) a "term paper." UC Davis distinguished professor James R.

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