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 golden bee (Italian).(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Revisiting 'The 13 Bugs of Christmas'

December 23, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's time to revisit "The 13 Bugs of Christmas." You've heard "The 12 Days of Christmas," beginning with a single "partridge in a pear tree" and ending with "12 drummers drumming.

View Article

Olive attentively watches for Kris Kolb. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Her Name Was Olive

December 20, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Her name was Olive. Every Friday morning she'd come bounding over to greet me, her tail wagging happily, one ear up, one ear down. I called her "My Second Favorite Dog" and nicknamed her "The Bee Garden Mascot.

View Article

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

Wings of Freedom

December 19, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." That's the line that came to me Saturday when I released a week-old Gulf Fritillary butterfly I'd reared in our home. Kris Kristofferson penned that line in his hit song, "Me and Bobby McGee," popularized by Janis Joplin.

View Article

Male leafcutter bee, Megachile fidelis, as identified by Robbin Thorp, on coneflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Where the Boys Are

December 18, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The boys won't be back in town for awhile. But they will show up. Girls, too.

View Article

A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, on tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bumble Bee Book: The Wait Is Over

December 17, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you've been itching for that long--awaited book about North America's bumble bees, the itch and the wait are over. You can now order the book, titled "Bumble Bees of North America: An identification Guide," on the Princeton University Press website.

View Article