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. 

A wind-whipped female variegated meadowhawk, a Sympetrum corruptum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

To 'Catch' a Dragonfly

October 5, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Dragonflies are fierce predators but they are predator-shy. "If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck," as the saying goes.
View Article
Robber fly staring at the photographer. A robber fly is one of many insects that students use in "How to Make an Insect Collection." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How to Make an Insect Collection

October 1, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's that time of year again. Teachers ask their students to make an insect collection. The project is considered a "rite of passage." However, often the students--whether they be middle school, high school or college level--don't know where to begin.
View Article
A praying mantis nails a monarch butterfly on a butterfly bush. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey(

To Kill a Monarch

September 30, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a sin to kill a mockingbird, wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harper Lee in her classic novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." "Mockingbirds don't do one thing except make music for us to enjoy," one of her characters, Miss Maudie, wisely observed.
View Article
Two Gulf Fritillaries doing what comes naturally. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Privacy, Please!

September 29, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Privacy, please! You're walking by a patch of lavender and Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) and you notice that two Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) are doing what birds 'n' bees 'n butterflies do. Well, some folks call it "bug porn" and some call it a "two-for" images--two insects in one photo.
View Article
Subscribe