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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. 

The iconic anise swallowtail caterpillar is a pale green with black bands containing orange spots. This is probably the fifth instar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No, It's...

June 28, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a bird! It's a plane! Is it Superman? No, it's a bird dropping. If you're growing sweet fennel (anise), you may have noticed what appear to be two species of swallowtail butterflies populating your plant.
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A California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica) nectaring on a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Flash of Orange: Welcome, California Tortoiseshell!

June 27, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A flash of orange. Usually we see assorted orange butterflies--Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) or Painted Ladies (Vanessa cardui) or Monarchs (Danaus plexippus)--on our butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii).
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Sarah Dalrymple, then a doctoral candidate at UC Davis, coordinated the bee mural in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Shedding Light on the Native Bees

June 26, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When you visit the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's bee garden--named the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven after its primary donor--be sure to check out the colorful mural on the shed. The panels feature mostly native bees.
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This male monarch, released by citizen scientist Steve Johnson of Ashland on Aug. 28, 2016, fluttered into Vacaville, Calif., on Sept. 5, a 457-kilometer journey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

David James' Incredible Research on Migratory Monarchs

June 25, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Newly published research by entomologist David James of Washington State University, Pullman, Wash., in the Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society yielded incredible news about the monarch population that migrates from the Pacific Northwest to California.
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