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.

An adult lady beetle (aka ladybug) and a larva. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Kill That 'Alligator-Looking" Critter? No, Don't!

June 4, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

"Yecch! What's that ugly bug? Kill it!" Have you ever heard anyone say that when they see the larva of a lady beetle (aka ladybug, family Coccinellidae)? Unfortunately, it's quite common among non-gardeners and non-insect enthusiasts.

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First-instar praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, as identified by UC Davis praying mantis expert and entomology student Lohit Garikpati. Photograph taken May 13 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A 'Star' Is Born and Then....

June 3, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

We rarely see an adult praying mantis until late summer or fall. Their offspring are out there, though. And sometimes we see life go full circle. On Sept.

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Jackson Audley (left) with major professor Steve Seybold in front of a dying black walnut tree on E St. in Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis Doctoral Student Jackson Audley: On the Road to Improve Forest Health

May 31, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Forest health promises to take a turn for the better, thanks to forest entomologists like Jackson Audley, a doctoral student at the University of California, Davis.

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Walter Leal, distinguished professor in the UC Davis Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, studies the molecular basis of insect olfaction, unraveling how insects detect chemicals and using that knowledge to inform pest management techniques. (Photo by David Slipher, College of Biological Sciences)

UC Davis Chemical Ecologist Walter Leal Says We're Like Bolas Spiders: Here's Why!

May 30, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal characterizes the work in his lab as "like bolas spiders." What are bolas spiders? Well, they're also known as angling or fishing spiders. That's because they don't spin a web, they hunt with a sticky glob of silk on the end of a line known as "bolas.

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A Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Butterfly Ballet: Gulf Fritillary in Action

May 29, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Sometimes there's a method to our madness, or madness to our method. Take the silver-spangled, orange-reddish butterfly, the Gulf Fritilllary (Agraulis vanillae). We spotted a female dive-bombing her host plant, the passionflower vine (Passiflora) in our pollinator garden in Vacaville.

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