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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. 

Valley carpenter bee foraging on a passion flower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Behold, the Gold!

October 22, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When you visit the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis, be sure to check out the passionflower vine clinging to the fence. You'll see female Valley carpenter bees (Xylocopa varipuncta) seemingly speckled with gold dust.
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Norm Gary's bee cluster in the middle of a sunflower field in Winters. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ultimate Swarms

October 21, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was blazing hot that summer day in Winters, Calif. The date: July 22, 2012. The place: a sunfiower field in Winters, Calif.
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The world's largest hornet next to a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Now That's Huge!

October 18, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The world's largest hornet (Vespa mandarinia) is huge. Just how huge? We photographed a two-inch specimen last week at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis. Among the insect musem's nearly eight million specimens is the giant hornet.
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