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 robber fly, Ommatius amula, with prey. Today (April 30) is World Robber Day. (Drawing by Charlotte Herbert Alberts.)

Why You Should Celebrate World Robber Fly Day

April 30, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Quick, do you know what today is? It's World Robber Fly Day! Question is, how are you celebrating it? April 30 is both a momentous and delightful occasion for Charlotte Herbert Alberts, who studies robber flies.

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A honey bee packing blue pollen from the tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Honey of a Festival on Saturday, May 4

April 29, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

In the honey bee colony, you'll see a workforce like no other. You'll see nurse maids, nannies, royal attendants, builders, architects, foragers, dancers, honey tenders, pollen packers, propolis or "glue" specialists, air conditioning and heating technicians, guards, and undertakers.

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A monarch butterfly laying an egg on tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

All Flights Lead to the Butterfly Summit

April 26, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

All flights lead to the Butterfly Summit. Road trips, too. Butterfly guru Arthur Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, will speak on "Are Butterflies Heralds of the Insect Apocalypse?" at the third annual Butterfly Summit, an all-day event that begins 10 a.m.

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Doctoral candidate Brendon Boudinot answers questions about insects in the Bug Doctor booth at Briggs Hall. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Bug Doctor Is In! Ask Me a Question!

April 25, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The doctor is in. The Bug Doctor, that is. If you attended the 105th annual UC Davis Picnic Day and headed for Briggs Hall, home of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, you encountered a booth lettered with "Bug Doctor" and a sign that read: Ask Me About Insects.

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Walter Leal, UC Davis distinguished professor, has been selected to deliver the ESA Founders' Memorial Award Lecture on Nov. 19 in St. Louis, Mo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Walter Leal Selected to Give ESA Founders' Memorial Award Lecture

April 24, 2019

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Breaking news and a well-deserved honor: Insect chemical ecologist Walter Leal, a distinguished professor at the University of California Davis, has just been selected to deliver the Founders' Memorial Award Lecture at the Entomological Society of America (ESA) meeting, to be held Nov. 17-20 in St.

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