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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 struggles to fit inside a strawberry blossom. In the bee world, one size fits all.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Come on In--the Pollen's Fine

June 25, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
She didn't know it was National Pollinator Week. If she had, she would have paid it no mind. She just knew that this was some fine pollen as she struggled to fit inside the strawberry blossom. The honey bee, Apis mellifera, is like that: determined, decisive, and mission-bound.
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Kira Olmos, 5, of Winters reacts to her first encounter with a stick insect at a Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. This candid image won a silver award in the ACE competition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis, UC ANR Communicators Win Awards

June 23, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hats off to the communicators affiliated with the University of California, Davis, and the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) for their international awards.
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What's pollinating the squash blossom? A squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, a species of solitary bee in the tribue Eucerini. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Got Squash? Got Squash Bees?

June 22, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Got squash blossoms? You've probably got squash bees. Unlike honey bees, which are generalists, squash bees are specialists. They pollinate only members of the cucurbits or squash family, Cucurbitaceae, which includes pumpkins, squash, gourds, cucumbers and zucchini.
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Eumorpha achemon, the Achemon Sphinx, is a "lovely beast," says UC Davis distinguished professor Art Shapiro. Ann Sievers, owner, grower and miller Il Fiorello Olive Oil Co., recently found this one the wall of her patio. (Photo by Ann Sievers)

The Achemon Sphinx Moth: A Lovely Beast, Indeed

June 19, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It is indeed a lovely beast, as lepidopterist Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, says. Ann Sievers, owner, grower and miller of Il Fiorello Olive Oil Co.
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