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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. 

A honey bee nectars on tropical milkweed, while another bee gets ready to join her. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey Bees Do Love That Milkweed

November 16, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Don't tell the honey bees. They will forage where they want to--whether it's on bee balm, a dandelion or that controversial tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica.
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A male metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, foraging on iceplant on Nov. 5 at a Bodega Bay's Doran Beach. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Metallic Green Surprise at Bodega Bay

November 12, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A Nov. 5th trip to Bodega Bay's Doran Beach yielded a metallic green surprise. What was that foraging on a pink iceplant blossom near a path to the ocean? A metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, also called an ultra green sweat bee. We usually don't see A.
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Lt. Robert Washino (front left) served as a medical entomologist in the Korean War, seeing duty with the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps from 1956 to 1958.

A Salute to a Special Veteran, Medical Entomologist Robert Washino, 88

November 11, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's Veterans' Day and what better day than today to salute noted medical entomologist Robert Washino, 88, a U.S. Army veteran? When you say "Thank you for your service," that not only means his service in the Korean War, but his entire career in medical entomology. Dr.
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