Bug Squad Logo

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. 

Primary Image
A honey bee and a morning glory. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Glory Bee!

June 12, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If a bee takes a liking to a morning glory, is it a glory bee?Have you seen the Convolvulus tricoloris flower,  commonly known as "morning glory" or "bindweed"? The plant boasts a flared blue trumpet flower with a white throat and yellow center. The genus is Latin for "twine around." The …
View Article
Primary Image
Honey bee nectaring on blanket flower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

New Venue for California Honey Festival

June 11, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If you're thinking about heading over to the California Honey Festival in downtown Woodland on Saturday, June 21, don't.It's moved to the nearby Yolo County Fairgrounds, located at 1250 East Gum Ave., Woodland. "Plans change, but the fun doesn't," organizers said.The event, free and open to the public,…
View Article
Primary Image
Male mountain carpenter bee on mallow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Big and the Little Bees

June 10, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
     It's National Pollinator Month, the month to raise awareness about the importance of pollinators and their vital role in food production and in our ecosystems. Take this male foothill carpenter bee, (Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex).We spotted it nectaring on mallow in a…
View Article
Primary Image
Monach caterpillar on tropical milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

About That Tropical Milkweed...

June 9, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 "Tropical milkweed is not the first thing that we need to worry about in monarch butterfly conservation.”So says UC Davis professor and monarch scientist Elizabeth Crone of the Department of Evolution and Ecology.Crone is the senior author of the newly published “Neither Source Nor Trap: Urban Gardens…
View Article
Primary Image
A monarch butterfly takes flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Where Are All the Butterflies?

June 6, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Where are all the butterflies?Many butterfly species you remember from your childhood simply aren’t around anymore or their numbers are dwindling.  Nationally, we’ve seen a 20 percent decline in our butterfly population over the last 24 years, and that, coupled with the rising threat of extinction…
View Article