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 honey bee prepares to visit another primose. Note the stringy mass of pollen hanging from her hind legs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why She's Packing Pollen That Way

August 21, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you've ever seen honey bees foraging on primrose, you may have seen something unusual. What's with the pollen hanging below their hind legs as they buzz from primrose to primrose? There's a reason for that.

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A frame from the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An App for Bee Health

August 20, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

So you want to know about bee health? Yes, there's an app for that--and you're welcome to download it for free. Our good neighbor to the north of us, Alberta Agriculture, has just developed Phase 1 of its Bee Health.

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A honey bee foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Learn How to Make Mead at UC Davis

August 19, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Like to learn how to make mead? You know, transform honey into honey wine? The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute and the UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology are offering a beginners' introduction to mead making on Friday and Saturday, Nov.

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A camouflaged katydid, its body resembling a leaf, feeds on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Katy Did, Katy Didn't!

August 18, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

I've always rather liked katydids. Anyone who is called "Kate" or "Katy" in their childhood usually winds up with "Katydid" as a nickname. And they repeatedly hear "Katy did. Katy didn't" (the sound the insect makes).

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A praying mantis perches on a blanketflower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Prey for Me

August 17, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Whenever folks post photos of praying mantids, their readers expect to see prey. You know, the hapless bee or butterfly that made the fatal mistake of getting too close to those spiked forelegs. This praying mantis (below) appeared to have been a hapless victim of another predator.

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