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.

Behind the Bee Veil: Charley Nye

December 9, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Have you ever wondered who's behind the veil? The bee veil, that is. If you enroll in a beekeepers' course at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, one of the instructors you're likely to meet is Charley Nye, manager of the facility.

View Article

Confessions of a Backyard Beekeeper

December 8, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Confessions of a Backyard Beekeeper. That's the title of a piece by former-Davis-mayor-turned-beekeeper Ann M. Evans in the newly published Ipinion Syndicate book, Cats, Dogs and Other Things that Poop in the Yard. "Here's what I know about honeybees," she began.

View Article

UC Davis Researchers: Wooly Bear Caterpillars Pick Winner of U.S. Presidential Campaign

December 7, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Score another win for those wooly bear caterpillars. For the past three decades, wooly bear caterpillars have accurately predicted a Republican or Democrat win in the U.S. Presidential elections.

View Article

Landmark Book Addresses California Bees, Blooms

December 6, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're looking for a holiday gift for family and friends--or maybe yourself--think bees and blooms. Specifically, California bees and blooms. Even more specifically, undomesticated bees (that is, not honey bees).

View Article

What Are Those Red and Black Bugs on Milkweed?

December 5, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Got milkweed? Then you probably have milkweed bugs. All summer and into fall, we spotted the familiar reddish, black and white bugs scurrying around on our showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, and tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. Showy bugs on showy milkweed.

View Article