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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. 

A Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) nectaring on a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 22, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's Thanksgiving Day, and what better day to stop and be thankful for not only family and friends, but for the beauty around us. That would include insects, including the stunning Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus).
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A syrphid fly, tucked in the folds of a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora, sips nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Syrphid Fly in Rock Purslane: When a House Is a Home

November 21, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When a house is a home... Take the case of a syrphid fly, aka hover fly or flower fly. It's a cold and windy day, and it's tucked in the folds of a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora, in Vacaville, Calif.
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The Bohart Museum of Entomology is featuring a memorial exhibit showcasing a biological control pioneer, George Compere (1858-1928).

A Glimpse of George Compere, a Pioneer in Biological Control

November 20, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"George Compere." Non-entomologists may not recall his name, but entomologists--especially those who study biological control--definitely do. And whether you do or don't, you'll want to see the display featuring George Compere (1858-1928), at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis.
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A monarch chrysalis that didn't make it. This image was taken Sept. 15. Said Art Shapiro of UC Davis: "The intersegmental membranes are showing. Whatever caused that, it opens the door to severe water loss, so the pupa will probably die." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarchs: You Can't Save Them All

November 19, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Monarchs: you can't save them all. It was a dismal year in Vacaville (and other parts of California) for monarch-rearing. Of the 10 caterpillars we collected from milkweed in our pollinator garden in early September and tried to rear, only eight made it.
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