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 Rick Karban has researched communication in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) on the east side of the Sierra since 1995.

Bug Squad: Article

Rick Karban: Do Plants Have Personalities?

November 24, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you've been talking to your plants for years, you are not alone. But know this: plants can communicate, too. They eavesdrop, sense danger in the environment, and can distinguish friend from foe.

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This is the infographic that won Jill Oberski a first-place award in the Entomological Society of America's graduate student competition.

Jill Oberski: Why Museum Collections Matter

November 23, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Congratulations to the five UC Davis entomology doctoral students who excelled in the Entomological Society of America's student competitions, part of the organization's Nov. 16-25 virtual meeting.

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This is the mural newly installed in the hallway of the the UC Davis Environmental Horticulture Building. The tiles are the work of top (from left) Heewon Shin, Diane Ullman, and Mai Xiong; center (from left) Jason Hu, Emma Stone, and Analiese Ignacio, and bottom (from left) Anushka Vispute, Gale Okumura, and Leslie Briceno-Marquez.

An Amazing UC Davis Mural: 'When Words Are Not Enough

November 20, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

How do you design a symbol that is meaningful to you and that addresses a problem in the world?

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A question about the paranormal figure Mothman drew interest at the Entomology Games, hosted by the Entomological Society of America. (Illustration by Tim Bertelink, Wikipedia)

What Entomologists Need to Know

November 19, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're a graduate student in entomology and competing with your team in the Entomology Games, a college-bowl type trivia game hosted by the Entomological Society of America, it's not only good to know your insects but you ought to have an interest in sports, crime-fighting insect figures, and car...

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UC Davis doctoral student Jill Oberski captured this screen shot at the finals. She is top row, second from left.

UC Davis Doctoral Students in Entomology Got It Right

November 18, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

They knew the answer. "A worker honey bee has how many pairs of wax glands on its abdomen?" That would be four, answered the UC Davis Entomology Team did at the Entomological Society of America's Virtual Entomology Games, a college-bowl type of competition formerly known as the Linnaean Games.

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