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.

Almond Field Days in Zamora and Lost Hills: And You're Invited

February 29, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

So you want to learn more about almond pollination, integrated crop pollination, blue orchard bees, navel orangeworms, wildflower plantings and solarization for wildflpwer planting success. You're in luck.

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A Push to Protect Pollinators

February 26, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

A United Nations' organization today issued a global pollinator health report and the news was not good.

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Why the Water Bear Is So Unusual

February 25, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Imagine you're a tardigrade, aka water bear or moss piglet. You're microscopic but you're nearly indestructible. You can survive being heated to 304 degrees Fahrenheit or being chilled for days at -328 F. And if you're frozen for 30 years, you can still reproduce.

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Dengue: Yes, You Can Get It Again

February 24, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Medical entomologists are learning more and more about Aedes aegypti, the daytime-biting mosquito that prefers human blood. The mosquito transmits the Zika virus, currently "the" hot medical topic. But it also transmits dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya viruses. Especially dengue.

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Hear the Buzz!

February 23, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're anywhere near an almond orchard, you've probably heard the steady buzz. That's the soothing sound of honey bees gathering food for their colony--and in the process, pollinating almonds. The buzz is to bees what a purr is to a cat.

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