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.

Bohart senior museum scientist Steve Heydon with Chancellor Linda Katehi. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An Honor Well Deserved

August 3, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Sometimes you'll see him sitting cross-legged on the floor, circled by first graders. They're asking questions like "What is an insect?" and "How long do insects live?" and "What do they eat?" Sometimes you'll see him holding Madagascar hissing cockroaches and explaining why they hiss.

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Elisa Seppa (left), superintendent of McCormack Hall, Solano County fFair and assistant superintendent Gloria Gonzalez work on a skep display. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Home Sweet Home

August 2, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's good to see county and state fairs focusing on bugs 'n bees. These displays inform, educate and entertain. The California State Fair, Sacramento, traditionally features an Insect Pavilion, which includes exotic and invasive species.

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Bee breeder-geneticist Kim Fondrk of UC Davis manages the Robert Page specialized genetic stock. These bee hives were in a Dixon almond orchard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Turning a Page in Entomological History

August 1, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It was great to see Robert E. Page Jr., emeritus professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, be selected as one of the 10 fellows of the 6000-member Entomological Society of America for 2012.

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Chemical ecologist Walter Leal. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Equivalent to an Olympic Gold Medal

July 31, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Walter Leal isnt participating in the Olympics, but he medaled just the same. It was not for athletic prowess, but for scholarly achievementsthe scientific equivalent of an international gold medal.

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Orbweaver eating its wrapped prey, a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's the Nature of Things

July 30, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The thing about predators and prey is that it's the nature of things. Take spiders. The many different species have different methods of catching, killing, confining and eating their prey.

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