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.

Male European carder bee (left) targets a honey bee on catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Aggressor

September 10, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Talk about aggression. Talk about bullying. Talk about power maneuvers.

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White-lined sphinx moth in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Behold the White-Lined Sphinx Moth

September 7, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Our cat used to catch them. She'd bring them into the house and watch them flutter at our feet. The white-lined sphinx moth (Hyles lineata) flies during the day and at night. It's not a graceful flier. It bumbles along like Howard Hughes' Spruce Goose on empty. With a wing span between 2.7 and 3.

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Red nymph of leaffooted bug, Leptoglossus zonatus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Seeing Red

September 6, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's easily missed because it's only a fraction of an inch long. But the color--a brilliant red--is right there. It's a little difficult to see on a red pomegranate, but it's there. What's there? The nymph of a leaffooted bug (Leptoglossus zonatus).

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Close-up of a male Western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) found Aug. 15 at Mt. Shasta. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eureka! A Western Bumble Bee

September 5, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Many of us in California have never seen the Western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) Many of us never will.

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Close-up of leaffooted bug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Turning Over a New Leaf (Footed Bug)

September 4, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When you first see the leaffooted bug, you know immediately how it got its name. The appendages on its feet look like leaves! This morning we saw one in our catmint (Nepeta) patch.

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