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.

Entomology student Whitney Krupp at work on her display for the show, "Organism." (Photo courtesy of Anna Davidson)

Prepare to Be Dazzled!

December 7, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Glow-in-the-dark organisms? Art made of fungus? Tales about insects? That will all take place at Organism, an art show fusing art, science and technology, including insect art by young entomologists on the University of California, Davis campus The date: Tuesday night, Dec. 11.

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Monarch butterfly will take the spotlight on Feb. 13. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why You Should Listen to These 10 Speakers

December 6, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What a great line-up of speakers! The new year hasn't begun, but already assistant professors Joanna Chiu and Brian Johnson are gearing up for the UC Davis Department of Entomology's winter seminar series, set Jan. 9-March 13. All seminars will take place on Wednesdays from 12:10 to 1 p.m.

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Honey bee working the germander. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Thank Goodness for Germanders

December 5, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Those of us addicted to photographing honey bees hate it when the cold, rainy California weather settles in. December and January are the worst for capturing images of bees outside their hives.

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Kathleen Socolofsky, director of the UC Davis Arboreteum, at a ceremony honoring the donors. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Adopt a Bug

December 4, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Wouldn't you know it, the Argentine ant is among the last to go. Nature's Gallery, a ceramic mosaic mural installed in the UC Davis Arboretum's Ruth Risdon Storer Garden, is gathering lots of visitors--and lots of donors.

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Bruce Hammock lab: a victim of the rainstorm. (Photo by Bruce Hammock)

Not That Kind of Water

December 3, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's no secret that Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, loves the water. Well, there's white-water kayaking for one. And, two, his water balloon battles.

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