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 lone soapberry bug searching for a mate in the UC Davis Arboretum, off Garrod Drive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Fifty Shades of Gray (and Red)

April 2, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ah, soapberry bugs... They'll never get top billing in a racy novel, let alone star in an R-rated movie. The "R" word comes into play only when they're referred to as "the rapidly evolving soapberry bugs" or when scientists talk about reproduction.
View Article
This female damselfly, Argia vivida, can barely be distinguished from the twig she's resting on. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Quick! Find the Damselfly!

April 1, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Quick! Find the damselfly! This damselfly (below) is so camouflaged that it's difficult to see her.
View Article
A lady beetle crawls on an Iceland poppy stem. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Fly Away Home

March 31, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Who wouldn't like to have a lady beetle, aka ladybug? Although they're commonly called "ladybugs," entomologists call them "lady beetles." That's because they're beetles, not bugs.
View Article
A honey bee heads for an almond blossom in Davis, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Almond and the Bee

March 30, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Remember Stephanie Hsia? She's the beekeeper/graduate student at Harvard's Graduate School of Design who traveled through almond orchards in California's Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys in May 2014 to illustrate and pen a book about the spatial relationship between honey bees and almonds.
View Article
Subscribe