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.

Worker bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on a California poppy. (Photo by Gary Zamzow)

California Poppy: No Nectar, Just Pollen

November 16, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The latest edition of Fremontia, a publication of the California Native Plant Society (CNPS), is devoted to the state's declining prairies and grasslands. "Humans are largely responsible" for this decline, writes editor Bob Hass.

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Doris Longwing (Lapus doris viridis) at Puentes Colgantes near Arenal Volcano, Costa Rica. (Photo by Hans Hillewaert, Courtesy of Wikipeda)

Those Fascinating Heliconius Butterflies

November 15, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Those fascinating Heliconius butterflies... Heliconius butterflies will take center stage, so to speak, when James Mallet of Harvard University presents a lecture at the University of California, Davis on Wednesday, Nov. 28.

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Bee observation hive will be one of the attractions at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart Museum Open House: Insect Societies!

November 14, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're looking for something to do on Sunday, Nov. 18--something both fun and educational--you'll want to attend the Bohart Museum of Entomologys open house. The theme is "Insect Societies," featuring honey bees, ants and termites.

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Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, casts a shadow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Casting a Long Shadow

November 13, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

We probably won't see the Gulf Fritilliary (Agraulis vanillae) laying eggs any more this year on our passion flower vine. Cool weather has set in, the rains are coming, and the butterfly season is ending. But just for a little while, the Gulf Frit obliged us with its shadow.

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Pregnant praying mantis camouflaged on a germander twig. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Just Waiting in the Germander

November 12, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's no secret that bees are fond of germanders or Teucrium, a genus in the mint family, Lamiaceae. And it's no secret that praying mantids are fond of bees.

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