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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 close-up of a male green sweet bee, Agapostemon texanus, nectaring on a coneflower, Rudbeckia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wearing o' the Green

March 15, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
On St. Patrick's Day, we see green. We crave green. We wear green. And the penalty for not wearing green? You get pinched. Not so with green sweat bees. As their common name implies, they're green. A metallic green. But no pinching allowed! The green sweat bee, Agapostemon spp.
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A winter ant, Prenolepis imparis, encounters a Phidippus, jumping spider in an almond tree on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Saving a Spider

March 15, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
I did not save a spider yesterday. Did not save one today, either. Well, if I had seen one.... Wednesday, March 14 was "Save a Spider Day" in the United States, according to a post by the Entomological Society of America (ESA).
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A honey bee pollinating a nectarine blossom in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's Tough Being a Bee During the Springlike Rains

March 14, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's tough being a bee--especially when you have work to do and the rain won't let you out of your hive. But when there's a sun break, it's gangbusters. To put it in alliteration, we spotted a bevy of boisterous bees networking in the nectarine blossoms in between the springlike rains this week.
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A bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, nectaring on lavender in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bumble Bees on the Move

March 13, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bumble bees stole the show during the Graduate Student Poster Research Competition at the fourth annual UC Davis Bee Symposium, themed "Keeping Bees Healthy.
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