Bug Squad Logo

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. 

Primary Image
Entomologist Doug Yanega of UC Riverside shows two Asian giant hornets, one of which is from the colony detected and killed on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. He was sought out to identify the species.

The Hornet Wars: 'A Bloody Dumpster Fire'

May 5, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The news stories and social media comments about the Asian giant hornet detected last year in British Columbia and Washington state and labeled the murder hornet, are drawing the ire of entomologists throughout the world. And well they should.
View Article
Primary Image
An Asian giant hornet from Blaine, Wash., to be published n the journal, Insect Systematics and Diversity. (Photo by Allan Smith-Pardo of the USDA)

About Those Asian Giant Hornets...

May 4, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The sensationalism. fear-mongering and general panic surrounding those Asian giant hornets, aka "murder hornets," detected last year in British Columbia and Washington state, are enough to curdle both the blood and the brain.
View Article
Primary Image
A green lynx spider settles on a pink rockrose. (Cell phone photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotta Love That Spider!

April 30, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Gotta love that spider! If you don't like spiders, you should like this one: the green lynx spider, Peucetia viridans. It's bright green, the kind that makes you think of shamrocks and leprechauns and Ireland.
View Article