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.

A male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, nectaring on a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Boys Are Back in Town!

May 7, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The boys are back in town. After the long winter and rainy spring, the boys are back in town. That would be the male Valley carpenter bees, Xylocopa varipuncta, or what Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, calls "the teddy bear bees.

View Article

Wendy Mather, program manager of the California Master Beekeeper Program, stands in front of the booth at the California Honey Fstival while a youngster gives her a quizzical look. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What Happens When Quizzical Kids Meet a Smiling Queen Bee

May 6, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When you're a little kid and there's a huge bee towering over you, what do you do? You do what comes naturally.

View Article

James R. Carey, distinguished professor of entomology, is the author of a landmark study published in the journal Science in 1992 that showed mortality of Mediterranean fruit flies (medflies) slows at older ages. This is an image by photographer Jack Kelly Clark, formerly of the UC Integrated Pest Management Program.

Why Insect Studies Can Tell Us a Lot About Human Longevity

May 3, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Insects can tell us a lot about human longevity. James R. Carey, UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology, will discuss "What Can Insect Studies Tell Us about Longevity and Aging? Lots!" at his UC Davis Emeriti Association presentation at 11:30 a.m., Thursday, May 9 in the Walter A.

View Article

Beekeeper Wendy Mather, program manager of the California Beekeeper Program, examines a frame at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. She will be among those answering questions at the California Honey Festival. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

So You Want to Be a Beekeeper...Think Like a Bee, Not Like a Beekeeper

May 2, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you want to be a beekeeper, you must think like a bee, not like a beekeeper. So says beekeeper/journalist Kim Flottum, who has served as the editor of Bee Culture magazine for more than three decades.

View Article

Extension apiculturist Elina Niño examines a frame in the apiary of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

California Honey Festival: Show Me the Honey!

May 1, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Show me the honey! You'll see scores of honey varietals at the third annual California Honey Festival on Saturday, May 4. And you can sample the honey, ask questions, and purchase it--the soul of a field of flowers.

View Article