Bug Squad

A daily (M-F) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008 and about the wonderful world of insects and those who study them. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Like to draw or color dragonflies? You'll have the opportunity to do just that at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 21. This is a flameskimmer dragonfly, Libellula saturata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Insect Art Is the 'In' Thing: Don't Miss Bohart Museum Open House on Jan. 21

January 15, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

"Just call it a "Day of Insect Art!" Sunday afternoon, Jan. 21 promises to be a day of inspiration, creativity and delight when the Bohart Museum of Entomology hosts an open house, "Bug-Art@The Bohart" from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, Crocker Lane.

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Entomologist Fiona Goggin of the University of Arkansas studies plant defenses. A UC Davis alumnus, she will return to the campus Jan. 17 to present a seminar. Here aphids suck out plant juices in a rose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's New in Entomology/Nematology Seminars

January 12, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology is gearing up for a plethora of seminars for the winter quarter--ranging from understanding insect behavior to understanding biodiversity. The department launched the seminars Wednesday, Jan.

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Redhumped caterpillars on a Western redbud tree in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Redhumped Caterpillar: Aptly Named

January 11, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

How appropriate are many of the common names of insects! Take the immature form (caterpillar) of the moth, Schizura concinna, family Notodontidae. We first spotted this caterpillar on our Western redbud tree (Cercis occidentalis) in September 2010. It has a red hump.

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Foraging honey bees return to the hive to share nectar, which the house bees will turn into honey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Take It From a Bee Guy: Honey Is Not 'Bee Vomit'

January 10, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Take it from the bee scientists. Honey is NOT vomit. That incongruous belief that Honey is bee vomit is resurfacing on a number of YouTube channels, opinion pieces and other Internet posts.

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This is Iquitos, Peru, known as the "capital of the Peruvian Amazon." Scientists know it as a hot spot for dengue. (Photo courtesy of the Thomas Scott lab)

Battling Dengue at a Field Station in Iquitos, Peru

January 9, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

UC Davis epidemiologist Amy Morrison knows Iquitos, Peru, like the back of her hand. Travelers know Iquitos as the "capital of the Peruvian Amazon" but scientists know it as a hot spot for dengue, a mosquito-borne viral disease with raging outbreaks in many tropical and subtropical countries.

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