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.

Bee scientist Brian Johnson of the UC Davis Department of Entomology in front of an observation hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Gathering of Beekeepers

November 9, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It will be a gathering of beekeepers next week in California. And it promises to be informative, educational and inspiring.

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They did it! From left are Andrew Richards, Ivana Li and Matan Shelomi. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What They Did Is Amazing!

November 8, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you like Pokmon, you know the insect connection. Satoshi Tajiri of Japan, who developed Pokmon, collected insects in his childhood and initially toyed with the idea of becoming an entomologist.

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Seven-spotted lady beetle on a California fuchsia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Walking the Line

November 7, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Some folks like to watch the grass grow, flowers bloom, or clouds drift. Others just like to sit back and look for insects.

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Buddies? A honey bee edges toward a Noctuid caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

As the Worm Turns

November 6, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

There it was. A green caterpillar, aka larva, aka worm, occupied a blanket flower (Gaillardia) last Friday morning in the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre pollinator garden on Bee Biology Road at the University of California, Davis. Soon a honey bee from the nearby Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

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Ant investigates a Gulf Fritillary caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Love Those Gulf Frits

November 5, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're passionate about Passiflora (passion flower vine), you're probably passionate about those Gulf Fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae). It's November with temperatures in the unseasonal mid-80s, and the butterflies are laying eggs like there's no tomorrow.

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