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.

Yellowstone white tiger beetle. (Image courtesy of Yellowstone National Park, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Are There Tigers in Yellowstone National Park? Listen to Bob Peterson's Seminar

March 30, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

(Editor's Note: See this March 31st seminar on YouTube at https://youtu.be/z85B0NlmizU) Are there tigers in Yellowstone National Park? Yes, tiger beetles. They live in the thermal pools, are one of the fastest animals on earth and in size, can fit on your thumbnail. Robert K. D.

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The honey bees swarmed last week to the entrance to the Epiphany Episcopal Church, Vacaville. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Blessed Are the Bees

March 29, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Blessed are the bees. When honey bees swarmed last week at the entrance to the Epiphany Episcopal Church in Vacaville, the site seemed quite fitting. Biblical references to bees and honey, such as "the land of milk and honey," abound. Blessed are the bees.

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UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock in his office in Briggs Hall. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why Do Some COVID-19 Patients Recover and Some Don't?

March 26, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The statistics are staggering, shattering and incredibly sad. Of the more than 30 million cases of COVID-19 in the United States, 547,000 people have died.

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UC Davis entomology major Rebecca Jean "RJ" Millena shows visitors some of the critters in the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

'When I Grow Up, I Want to Be an Entomologist'

March 25, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

How many kindergarten students have you heard say "When I grow up, I want to be an entomologist?" "Ento-what?" some folks will ask. "What's that?" Five-year-old Rebecca Jean "RJ" Millena could have told you. She still can. When she entered kindergarten in Concord, Calif.

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A row of honey jars. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Still Time to Register for UC Davis Honey Adulteration Symposium

March 24, 2021

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

There's still time to register for the online Honey Adulteration Symposium, hosted by the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center and featuring keynote speaker Michael T. Roberts of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy at the UCLA School of Law. The 2.

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