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. 

Honey bee foraging on flowering crab apple. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How to Tell It's Almost Spring

March 16, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
You can tell it's almost spring when you hear bees buzzing on the flowering crab apples. Spring officially starts Friday, March 20, but don't tell that to the bees. They're in the midst of their spring build-up. Meanwhile, California Agriculture Day beckons.
View Article
A green lacewing lands on an Iceland poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Lacewings! Lacewings! Lacewings!

March 12, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
There it was. A beautiful green lacewing, family Chrysopidae, resting on a yellow Iceland poppy in our bee garden. It literally glowed. Nice to have it land there instead of on a green leaf; otherwise, we may never have noticed it. Lacewings are the good guys and girls.
View Article
A Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, visiting a flowering quince in the UC Davis Arboretum. Butterflies are pollinators. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What Bees, Butterflies, Beetles, Birds and Bats Have in Common

March 11, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bees do it. Butterflies do it. Beetles do it. Birds do it. Bats do it. Do what, you ask? They pollinate! The Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, will greet visitors on Saturday, March 14 at its open house, themed "Pollinator Nation." To be held from 1 to 4 p.m.
View Article
The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, on rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How Many Bumble Bees Have You Seen This Year?

March 10, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Quick! How many bumble bees have you seen so far this year? For me, it's zero, zilch, nada. They're out there, though. Talent insect photographer Allan Jones of Davis, shared some of his images that he captured this year.
View Article
Subscribe