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.

A Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) lands on a passioinflower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Strange Weather We're Having

October 21, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Strange weather we're having here in Central California. After soaring into the 90s, the temperatures pushed again into the 80s today (Oct.21). The Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) are "making the most-est" of their host plant, passionflower vines. Blossoms keep popping up like so much popcorn.

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Honey bee caught in the storm attempts to dry off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

That Wet Stuff!

October 20, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The rain that pounded Northern California on Oct. 18--complete with thunder and lightening--also drenched a few honey bees that waited out the storm.

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A common gray hairstreak, Strymon melinus, nectarine on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Winning Streak

October 19, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's delightful to see the gray hairstreak. We're not talking about the gray streaks in our hair as we age (to perfection, of course!). We're talking about the gray hairstreak, a common gray butterfly found throughout the United States, coast to coast, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.

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Female monarch has just eclosed. Next to her is a gold-studded jade-green chrysalis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Joy to the (Monarch) World

October 16, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Oh, the joys of rearing monarch butterflies. Not for commercial purposes. For conservation purposes. For a couple of months now, we've been watching the monarch caterpillars slowly disappearing from our milkweed plants. We'd see fifth instar 'cats one day, and the next day, they'd be gone.

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A queen bee circled by her retinue. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Neonics Severely Affecting Queen Bees

October 15, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Everyone from scientists to environmentalists to beekeepers are clamoring for more research on the effects of neonicotinoids on honey bees.

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