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.

Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) mating on a passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gulf Fritillaries: Spectacular and Showy

November 16, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Sex in the afternoon. On the passionflower vine. That's what happened today on the Passiflora (see images below). Coming soon, more Gulf Fritillaries. The Gulf Frit (Agraulis vanillae), an orangish-reddish butterfly of the family Nymphalidae, is as spectacular as it is showy.

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Karl Kjer, newly appointed Schlinger Chair of Systematic Entomology in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will deliver a Premier Presentation at the ESA meeting. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Can You Feel the Synergy?

November 13, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When the Entomological Society of America meets Nov. 15-18 in Minneapolis, Minn., it will be all about insects and synergy.

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A truck loaded with bee hives. Image taken through a car window. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What to Do When a Bee Truck Overturns

November 12, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When a bee truck overturns, all sorts of things can happen. None of them is good--unless both the people and the bees fare well. Bystanders panic. Bees can and do react to all the commotion by stinging the first responders and the bystanders. It's especially difficult at night.

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Monarch butterfly lands on the American flag. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue! (And Other Colors, Too)

November 11, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Hurrah for the Red, White and Blue! Today is Veterans' Day, honoring and celebrating our U.S. military veterans. When I think of Veterans' Day, I think of all my ancestors, from the Revolutionary War on down, who answered our country's call for service.

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Moment of freedom--a female monarch is released. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Mid-Life Chrysalis

November 10, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

A mid-life chrysalis? Well, maybe not mid-life, but definitely out of season. A female monarch butterfly eclosed today in our little indoor butterfly habitat. Two weeks ago, we rescued the caterpillar from a narrow-leafed milkweed plant in our Vacaville pollinator garden and brought it inside.

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