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.

A red flameskimmer dragonfly, (Libellula saturata) perches on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Know Your Dragonflies!

September 4, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You're walking through a park and suddenly spot a dragonfly perched on a stick. "What's that?" you ask. As you edge closer, it takes off. "Missed it!" Well, you won't want to miss the Bohart Museum of Entomology's open house on Sunday, Sept.

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Late afternoon sun gives away the location of this praying mantis hidden in a bed of lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Find the Praying Mantis!

September 3, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Whether you call them "praying" mantis or "preying" mantis, one thing is for sure: they are difficult to find.

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A lady beetle, a monarch caterpillar and an infestation of oleander aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How Small Is Small?

September 2, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Sometimes in a world of towering skyscrapers, jumbo jets and warehouses big enough to hold a small planet--or at least a state the size of Rhode Island--we don't realize how small small is. Last weekend it was a veritable insect feast on our narrowleafed milkweed.

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A monarch caterpillar chowing down milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Thank You, Mrs. Monarch!

September 1, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Thank you, Mrs. Monarch. Thank you for laying your eggs on our newly planted narrowleaf milkweed. We planted the narrowleafed milkweed last spring, hoping we could coax you to come.

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A mating pair of praying mantids. At left is the male, soon to lose his head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Yes, It Happens: Sexual Cannibalism in Praying Mantids

August 31, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Yes, it happens. We've heard the stories and read some of the scientific literature about what a female praying mantis will do to her partner during the mating process. Sexual cannibalism. She'll bite the head off of her mate and eat it--but the mating process continues unabated.

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