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 honey bee heads for a tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, a biennual. This image was taken in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tower of Jewels: Aptly Named

May 25, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Let's hear it for the tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. Native to the island of Tenerife and belonging to the family Boraginaceae, it can tower as high as a 10-foot Christmas tree. It's a biennial, meaning that it takes two growing seasons to complete its life cycle.

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A male monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Butterfly Summit Features UC Davis Expert Art Shapiro

May 24, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

How's the butterfly population faring in north-central California? What do you plant to attract and sustain them? You can find out at the second annual Butterfly Summit, a free event hosted by Annie's Annuals and Perennials in Richmond. The event takes place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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UC Davis doctoral student and pollination ecologist Maureen Page has received prestigious three-year fellowship, a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, funded by the Department of Defense.

A 'Page' in an Important Chapter on Wild and Managed Bees

May 23, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Congratulations to doctoral student and pollination ecologist Maureen Page of the Neal Williams lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology! She's the recipient of a prestigious three-year fellowship, a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, for her research proposal...

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A honey bee approaches a Penstemon Margarita BOP. BOP? That means "Bottom of the Porch." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee-Bopping with the Penstemon Margarita BOP

May 22, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

So we purchased a sky blue Penstemon cultivar with a tag labeled "Penstemon Margarita BOP." BOP? Bureau of Prisons? Bottom of the Pyramid? Business Owner's Policy? Basic Operation Plan? Breach of Peace? No, none of the above. It's an acronym for "Bottom of the Porch.

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A male flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata, perches on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Fire and Fury in a Pollinator Garden

May 21, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Just call it "Fire and Fury in a Pollinator Garden." That would be the firecracker red flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata. They fly into our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif., attracted by the lily-padded pond and the all-you-can-eat buffet of flying insects.

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