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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 male Valley carpenter bee (right) peers from a hole. A female (all females are solid black) occupies the hole next to him.

The 'Gold' That an Apple Tree Yielded

January 5, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Thar's gold in them thar apple trees. Gold? When a rotten apple tree was cut down last week on private property in Davis, scores of eyes peered from the drilled holes.
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Cabbage white butterfly on catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Posse for the Pieiris?

January 2, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
In case you've forgotten amid all the horn-blowing, champagne-sipping and singing of "Auld Lang Syne," the search is still on to collect the first cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) of 2015 in the three county-area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano.
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This photo of a black soldier fly, by Jena Johnson, is "Mr. October" in the ESA calendar. (Photo by Jena Johnson, used with permission)

A Buggy New Year!

January 1, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a buggy new year! One of the fascinating things about beginning the new year is the Entomological Society of America's "World of Insects" calendar. Amazing images of insects (and one spider!) jump out at you.
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Monarchs roosting on the leaves of a Eucalyptus tree. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dead Leaves Hanging from a Tree? No, Monarchs

December 30, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
At first glance, they looked like dead leaves hanging on an Eucalyptus tree in the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz. From 75 to 80 feet below, they bore no resemblance to monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus), the most familiar butterfly in all of North America.
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