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 twelve-spotted dragonfly. Libellula pulchella, perches on a bamboo stake. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Seeing Spots--12 of Them

June 22, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The most common dragonfly in our little family bee garden is the red flameskimmer, Libellula saturata.

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Former UC Davis staff research associate/beekeeper Billy Synk, shown in the apiary of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, has been named the director of Pollination Programs for Project Apis m. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Billy Synk: Director of PAm's Pollination Programs

June 19, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's National Pollinator Week and there's exciting news on the horizon. Staff research associate Billy Synk of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis, has been named director of Pollination Programs for Project Apis m.

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It was a mix of pollinators and people at the Pollinator Pavilion during UC Davis Picnic Day. Graduate student Rei Scampavia provided the display in Briggs Hall. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'P' is for People, Partners and Pollinators!

June 18, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's good to see all the focus on National Pollinator Week, as typified by UC Davis graduate student/native bee ecologist Margaret "Rei" Scampavia (at right) focusing on a male Valley carpenter bee. This is Xylocopa varipuncta, also known as "the teddy bear bee.

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Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (now emeritus, shows visitors the inside of a hive at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Our Bees Deserve The Best

June 17, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

This is National Pollinator Week and what better time to post some bee wisdom from Cooperative Extension apiculturist (now emeritus) Eric Mussen?

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This macro image of a Ceratina bee is the work of Sam Droege of the bee inventory and monitoring program, the U.S. Geological Survey. This image is part of the public domain.

Just inTime for Pollinator Week

June 16, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Just in time for Pollinator Week. The wild bee research co-authored by 58 bee scientists and published today (June 16) in Nature Communications is drawing a lot of attention--and well it should.

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