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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. 

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A syrphid or hover fly, Eristalis tenax, nectaring on a sea rocket plant, Cakile maritima, on Oct. 18 at Doran Regional Park Beach, Sonoma. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollinators on the Beach? Fancy Meeting You Here

October 18, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
So you're walking along Doran Regional Park Beach in Sonoma County on Tuesday, Oct. 16 and thinking about the pollinators in your back yard. (Don't we all?) And then: what a delight to see.
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A Gulf Fritillary laying eggs on her host plant, passionflower vine. Note the eggs (yellow dots) on the left. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hungry, Hungry Caterpillars!

October 17, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It starts out slow. Beginning in the spring (and sometimes year-around in some locales) Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) lay their eggs on their host plant, the passionflower vine (Passiflora).
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A female variegated meadowhawk dragonfly, Sympetrum corruptum, perches on a bamboo stake in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

They Don't Announce Their Arrival or Departure

October 16, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
They don't announce their arrival or departure. If you're an insect photographer, or a wanna-be-insect photographer, expect the unexpected and don't go anywhere without your camera. That applies to such simple things as walking out your back door and stepping into your pollinator garden.
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A cabbage white butterlfy, Pieris rapae, heads for lantana in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Spotting the Cabbage White Butterfly

October 15, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
They're everywhere. But they're not welcome. Agriculturists who commercially grow cabbage and other cucurbits aren't fond of the cabbage white butterlfy, Pieris rapae, because its larvae are pests that ravish their crops. No welcome mat for them.
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