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.

UC Davis entomology student Laurie Casebier as a cerambycidae beetle (long-horned beetle). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wouldn't You Like to Be a Long-Horned Beetle?

November 2, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You just can't beat those Halloween costumes at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual membership party. By now, you've probably seen the peacock jumping spider costume created and worn by UC Davis entomology undergraduate student Wade Spencer.

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UC Davis entomology undergraduate student Wade Spencer practices his peacock jumping spider moves. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Peacock Jumping Spider Goes Viral!

October 30, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When the Bohart Museum of Entomology hosts its annual membership Halloween party, don't expect to see ghosts and goblins and witches. No, expect to see a peacock jumping spider, violin spider, and praying mantis. And okay, maybe a monarch butterfly and a honey bee or two.

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"Pollen Power": A robber fly with a trace of pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

For the Love of Insects

October 29, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

We love looking at insect images. Drum roll...the winning images for the Entomological Society of America's Photo Salon, a global competition, have just been announced. They will be shown at the ESA's meeting, Nov. 15-18 in Minneapolis, Minn.

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Gulf Fritillaries in a "Butterfly Ballet." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Butterfly Ballet: No Boundaries, No Borders

October 28, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're nurturing a passionflower vine (Passiflora), you've probably seen "The Butterfly Ballet."' The Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae), orangish-reddish butterflies with silver-spangled wings, stay close to Passiflora, their host plant. It's the circle of life.

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Freeloader flies, from family Milichiidae, crowd the carcass of a honey bee trapped in a web. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pity the Poor Honey Bees

October 27, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Pity the poor honey bees. They have to contend with pesticides, parasites, pests, diseases, malnutrition, stress and that mysterious malady called colony collapse disorder in which adult bees abandon the hive, leaving behind the queen, immature bees and food stores.

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