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.

A male longhorned bee, Melissodes communis, as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'Bee a Scientist' on May 8

May 5, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Get ready! It's almost time to count the pollinators! The University of California's Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) wants you set aside three minutes on Thursday, May 8 and count the pollinators wherever you live--and they live--in California.

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Honey bees clustering on pomegranate blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Where the Bees Are

May 2, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Do you now where the bees are? On Thursday, May 8 let's all step outside for three minutes and count the honey bees and other pollinators. It's all part of the "Day of Science and Service" sponsored by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR).

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A white-lined Sphinx moth heads for a flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Like a Moth to a Flame

May 1, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Moths. Mother's Day. The two go together like a moth to a flame, so why not have "Moth-er's Day?" And that's exactly what the Bohart Museum of Entomology is doing from 1 to 4 p.m.,Sunday, May 4 in Room 1124 of Academic Surge, Crocker Lane, UC Davis. The open house is free and open to the public.

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A Valley carpenter bee appears to be "nectar-robbing," drilling a hole through the flower instead of going into the entrance. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Lurking Place of the Fairies

April 30, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Foxgloves are called "the lurking place of the fairies." That could be. Foxgloves are also known by their genus name, Digitalis--meaning fingerlike. The genus is native to western and southwestern Europe, western and central Asia, Australasia and northwestern Africa.

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Honey bee packing a load of blue pollen heading for the tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How Tall Is It?

April 29, 2014

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

We have this tall plant in our back yard. How tall is it? Tall enough to give weather forecasts. (It's never caught short by a sudden storm.) Tall enough to see over the neighbor's fence to find a missing ball.

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