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.

A jumping spider on a pink rose soaks in some sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why Spiders Are Not Insects

October 19, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's almost time for Halloween, when all self-respecting little ghosts, goblins and ghouls take a special interest in spiders. We saw this little jumping spider (below) on a pink rose. It doesn't look like it could scare anything--except for maybe a sweat bee or hover fly.

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A frame of honey from the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Debut Event of UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center

October 18, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you want to know more about honey and pollination, then mark your calendar for Saturday, Oct. 27. That's the date of the debut event of the newly established Honey and Pollination Center of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science (RMI).

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Syrphid fly (right) circles a blanket flower, unaware of the jumping spider. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Squad: Article

A Bug-Eat-Bug World

October 17, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's a bug-eat-bug world out there. Today we watched a syrphid fly, aka "hover fly" and "flower fly," circling a blanket flower (Gaillardia) and then touching down to sip a little nectar. Syrphids are called "hover flies" for good reason. They "hover" over a blossom, helicoperlike.

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Leaffooted bug nymphs, Leptoglossus clypealis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Squad: Article

Well, Hello There!

October 16, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

At first they appeared on our pomegranate tree, our 85-year-old pomegranate tree. Then they migrated over to our passion flower vine, Passiflora, where we're trying to rear Gulf Fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae). They're leaffooted bug nymphs, Leptoglossus clypealis.

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Praying mantis, accidentally splashed with water, tries to remove the droplets. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Squad: Article

No Preying When You're Sprayed

October 15, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

One thing's for certain--a praying mantis does not like to get wet. If it were human, it would not dip a toe in the water and yell to its friends: "C'mon in, the water's fine!" Water is not fine--not to a praying mantis.

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