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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. 

Have you seen a cabbage white butterfly yet this year? This image, taken last summer in Vacaville, shows a cabbage white butterfly trying to share a blossom with a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

No Rapae Today! Maybe Tomorrow?

January 24, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
No winner yet. The annual Beer for a Butterfly" or "Suds for a Bug" contest has not produced a winner. But somewhere out there, is a cabbage white butterfly taking its first flight.
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This was the scene at the Bohart Museum of Entomology during the 2018 UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ready for UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?

January 23, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Are you ready for the eighth annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 16 when 13 museums and collections will be open on the University of California, Davis, campus? The event, free, family friendly and educational, is always held on Presidents' Day weekend.
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Benicia resident Gordon Hough captured this image of a bee nectaring on a Pyrus calleryana (Bradford pear or another cultivar) at the Benicia State Recreation Area on Monday, Jan. 21, as identified by Daniel Potter, UC Davis professor of plant sciences.

'A' is for Almonds and 'B' is for Bees and Bradford Pear Blossoms

January 22, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
No, it's not Valentine's Day, yet. Yes, the almonds are blooming. No, it's not spring. But it looks like spring in Benicia. The almonds are blooming in the Benicia (Calif.) State Recreation Area. Some are on the road at the entrance to the park. Other trees are also blooming.
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UC Davis ecologist Rick Karban has researched plant communication in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) on the east side of the Sierra since 1995.

Plant Communication Research: 'Taking Root'

January 18, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's not outlandish now, if it ever were. A recent article in Science headlined "Once Considered Outlandish, the Idea that Plants Help their Relatives Is Taking Root," and dealing with how plants communicate, is drawing widespread attention.
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