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.

Sea squill (Drimia maritima or Urginea maritima) thrives in the Carolee Shields White Flower Garden and Gazebo, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Secrets of Sea Squill

September 9, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Honey bees are the first thing you notice about the sea squill (Drimiamaritima or Urginea maritima) in the 100-acre UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

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These newly eclosed monarchs are raring to leave their butterfly habitats. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Magical 28 Monarchs

September 8, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's a "Rear-and-Release-Monarchs" project. Since Sept. 1, 2020, we've reared and released 28 healthy monarch butterflies into the Vacaville, Calif., area.

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A Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, laying an egg on Labor Day weekend in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Happy Labor Day from a Gulf Fritillary

September 7, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Happy Labor Day! And what an appropriate time to post an image of a Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, depositing an egg! The females lay their eggs on the tendrils and leaves of the butterfly's host plant, the passionflower vine (Passiflora) but we've seen them depositing eggs on nearby fences whe...

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Boone Vale, a volunteer with the Bodega Bay Fire Department, took this heartbreaking image of a fire reaching the Pope Valley hives of Caroline Yelle, owner of Pope Valley Queens. Yelle credits him for saving some of her hives. (Photo by Boone Vale, used with permission)

The Bee People, The Bees, and The Fires

September 4, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The wildfires that raged through California, crippling and/or destroying beekeepers' homes and their livelihoods are heartbreaking. One victim, Caroline Yelle, owner of Pope Canyon Queens (PCQ), located on 8307 Quail Canyon Road, Vacaville, lost 500 hives.

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A cuckoo bee, Xeromelecta californica, rests on a leaf in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ever Seen a Cuckoo Bee?

September 3, 2020

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Ever seen a cuckoo bee? They're also called parasitic bees or "kleptoparasites" or "cleptoparasitises." They cannot carry pollen (no apparatus) and do not construct their nests. They lay their eggs in the nests of their hosts and then eat the food meant for the hosts.

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