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.

Water mites on a damselfly. (Photo by Greg Kareofelas, taken with a Canon Elph)

Mighty Mites!

June 29, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you've ever been "up close and personal" to a damselfly, you might have seen the water mites. Naturalist Greg Karofelas of Davis, an associate of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, has not only seen them, he has photographed them. See his truly spectacular photo below.

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The taste of honey right from the hive--delicious! (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, Honey!

June 26, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Oh, honey! Are you better than all the others? Make way for the Good Food Awards competition, opening July 6. This year is the second consecutive year for the honey category. Last year more than 50 beekeepers from throughout the United States entered their honey.

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Cindy Carmouche of Vacaville captured this amazing photo of early instar redhumped caterpilllars eating the leaves of her French prune tree.

Some Very Hungry Caterpillars

June 25, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What an amazing photo! Vacaville resident Cindy Carmouche, a nurse at Kaiser Permanente, captured a photo of early instar redhumped caterpillars eating her French prune leaves. One look at this photo and you will marvel at some v-e-r-y hungry caterpillars.

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A honey bee gathers nectar from a lavender blossom while her cousins, sunflower bees (Melisodes agilis), sleep. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Boys' Night Out--with a Girl!

June 24, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Two species of male sunflower bees, Svastra obliqua and Melissodes agilis, spend the day on our Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia) chasing the girls and protecting their turf. Sometimes I wonder why they don't tire out sooner than they do. The Energizer Bunny could take lessons from them.

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A line of jackrabbits in the Vacaville Museum courtyard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Butterflies and Jackrabbits!

June 23, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Have you ever seen butterflies on jackrabbits? No? Well, if you attended the recent "We Know Jack" public art exhibit at the Vacaville Museum on Buck Avenue, you saw jackrabbits. Plenty of jack rabbits. And butterflies. Plenty of butterflies.

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