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.

Camouflaged praying mantis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Perfect Camouflage

July 21, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What a perfect camouflage! Have you ever seen a green praying mantis hiding among the green growth in your garden? Concealed. Disguised. Camouflaged. The praying mantis is a patient insect.

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A longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, awakens on a lavender stem. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Stems

July 18, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Just one word--stems. Bees forage on the lavender in our bee yard, but sometimes you'll see them on the stems.

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A newly emerged Gulf Fritillary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Passion for a Passion Butterfly

July 17, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

"Wow! Oh, wow!" That's what people usually say when they encounter dozens of reddish-orange butterflies at a home on the 1500 block of Claremont Drive in Davis, Calif.

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A longhorned bee, Melissodes agilis, dive-bombs a bumble bee, Bombus fervides. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tithonia: What a Draw!

July 16, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you have Mexican sunflowers (genus Tithonia) in your garden, you can expect a diversity of insects--and not just honey bees. Lately we've been photographing all the insects that visit the Tithonia in our bee garden.

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A praying mantis won’t eat a few days before it will shed its skin (molt). This is normal. After molting it will start to eat again. When a praying mantis will not eat even though it does not need to molt, it can help to offer it a Praying mantis soaking up some sun rays. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Who Doesn't Love a Praying Mantis?

July 15, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Who doesn't love a praying mantis? Certainly not a butterfly or a bee. We humans, though, are fascinated by them. First, there's the problem of finding them. Often they're so camouflaged that we don't see them until they rustle the leaves and snatch a moving prey.

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