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. Feedspot lists it as one of the top entomology blogs on the Internet.

When it comes to gender, most beekeepers are males. In national beekeeping groups women represent less than a third of leadership positions, according to the Bee Culture magazine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why Aren't There More Women in Beekeeping?

February 23, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Why aren't there more women in beekeeping? According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 31 percent of all American farmers are women, contributing $12.

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UC Davis diagnostic parasitologist Lauren Camp wears a papier mache nematode hat, modeled after a hookworm mouth. At left is nematologist Chris Pagan, a graduate student in entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Spotlight on Nematodes

February 22, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Quick question: What was diagnostic parasitologist Lauren Camp of the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital wearing on her head as she talked about the nematode collection last Saturday at the seventh annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?

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A young girl searches for bees amid the blossoms of the California native plant, Brandegee's sage (Salvia brandegeei) (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Heaven in the Bee Haven

February 20, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It was heaven in the bee haven. As temperatures climbed into the seventies last Saturday, honey bees foraged in the California native plant, Brandegee's sage (Salvia brandegeei). and pollinated the almond blossoms. It seemed like spring.

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UC Davis student Diego Rivera shows a Madagascar hissing cockroach. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Who Doesn't Love Bugs?

February 20, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Raise your hands! How many of you love bugs? If you had asked that question at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house at the seventh annual Biodiversity Museum Day last Saturday at the University of California, Davis, the Yellow Shirts would have been proud.

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Cupcake, a Rhombodera megaera praying mantis, perches on the hand of her owner, UC Davis animal biology major, Crystal Homicz. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Praying Mantis Named Cupcake Greets Visitors at the Bohart Museum

February 19, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Most bakers define a "cupcake" as a a small cake designed to serve one person--and one that can be baked in a paper or aluminum cup in a muffin tin. Not UC Davis animal biology major Crystal Homicz, treasurer of the UC Davis Entomology Club.

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