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 butterfly. Agraulis vanillae, lands on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Touchdown! At Last!

July 22, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

For months, I've been waiting ah, so patiently (well, not always s-o-o-o patiently) for the gulf fritillary butterfly to touch down on our Mexican sunflower, Tithonia. A perfect match, I figured.

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A male mountain carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, nectaring on bulbine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Big on the Bulbine

July 19, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Look at the Xylocopa on the Xanthorrhoeaceae. If that sounds like a mouthful, think of the mountain or foothill carpenter bees, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, on bulbine from the genus Bulbine in the family Xanthorrhoeaceae.

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The Miss Bee Haven Project starts with a lump of clay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Making of a Bee

July 18, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Take one nationally celebrated artist and one nationally renowned entomologist. Blend together. Add their deep concern for the declining honey bee population. Then just add bees. Ceramic bees.

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A honey bee can beat its wings 230 times every second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How Fast Can a Honey Bee Fly?

July 17, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

How fast can a honey bee fly? We captured these photos today of a honey bee nectaring on catmint (genus Nepeta). The bee was moving fast. To blur the wings, we set the shutter speed at 1/640 of a second with an f-stop of 13 and IS0 of 800.

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Honey bees foraging on a passion flower blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Passion for Passion Flowers

July 16, 2013

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Honey bees are passionate about passion flowers (Passiflora). The intricate tropical flower is their private merry-go-round, their favorite hide 'n seek place, their gathering spot.

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