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.

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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A varroa mite (see reddish-brown spot under the wing) clings to a bee foraging on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How Are the Bees Doing? ABF Conference in Reno

January 8, 2018

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

How are the bees doing? When the American Beekeeping Federation (ABF) meets Jan. 9-13 at the Grand Sierra Resort, Reno, Nev. for its 75th annual American Beekeeping Federation Conference & Tradeshow, the key concern is bee health. Sadly, colony losses continue to take their toll.

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