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.

Gulf Fritillary touches down on a blanket flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Made for Each Other

May 12, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What a perfect match when a Gulf Fritillary butterfly touches down on a blanket flower. They're both reddish-orange and showy. Last weekend we spotted a Gulf Fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae) land momentarily on a blanket flower (Gaillardia), in our bee garden.

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Butterfly expert Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis, talks pollinators with Amina Harris, director of the Honey and Pollination Center. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Countdown in the Good Life Garden

May 9, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Did you count pollinators on Thursday, May 8? That was "Be a Scientist Day," sponsored by the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources' Day of Science and Service to commemorate 100 years of Cooperative Extension.

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Sharon Payne, superintendent of the Today's Youth Building at the Dixon May Fair, stands by a 6-year-old's bug exhibit, which won a blue ribbon and best of show. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bugs Galore at Dixon May Fair

May 8, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

There are bugs galore at the Dixon May Fair, which opened today (Thursday, May 8) and continues through Sunday, May 11. The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology is showcasing insects in the Floriculture Building, where displays include a bee observation hive from the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

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Beekeeper Brian Fishback shows students at Lake Canyon Elementary School, Galt, a frame of bees. (Photo by Beth Bartkowski)

Bee-ing a Part of the Solution

May 7, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

This is a story about a third-grade classroom in Galt, Calif., that loves honey bees. It's also a story about a beekeeper named Brian Fishback of Wilton who eagerly taught them to love bees. Fishback, a former volunteer at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

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A crane fly lands on a stucco wall. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not a 'Mosquito Hawk'

May 6, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Some folks call them "bugsy" or "mosquito hawks" or "skeeter eaters" "flying daddy longlegs." They may look like Texas-sized mosquitoes but they're not mosquitoes. Neither do they eat mosquitoes. They're crane flies in the order Diptera, family Tipulidae. And they're found worldwide.

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