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.

View of the Davis Bee Sanctuary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

They Want the Weather to 'Bee Nice'

March 29, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

"The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains, according to a signature song in the musical, My Fair Lady. Dont tell that to Derek Downey, who has been trying to schedule the grand opening of the Davis Bee Sanctuary now for the past two weeks.

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Pollen-covered honey bee on brittlebush, Encelia californica (as identified by Ellen Zagory), in back of the UC Davis Lab Sciences Building. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Aloe, There!

March 28, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Those attending the California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH) public workshop on "Your Sustainable Backyard: Pollinator Gardening" on Saturday, April 28 at the University of California, Davis, will, no doubt, leave with a better understanding of how we can all do our part to support healthy be...

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Honey bee sipping honey in the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Taste of Honey

March 27, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Honey! Today at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, we borrowed a plastic spoon and offered a taste of honey to newly emerged honey bees. It was their sisters' making and now it was theirs. And soon, they will be making their own.

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Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (left) of UC Davis with California State Beekeepers' Association president Bryan Ashurst of Westmorland. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Land of Milk and Honey

March 26, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

At the entrance, the recent California Agriculture Day celebration on the west lawn of the State Capitol looked like the land of milk and honey. The first booth, operated by the Dairy Council of California, handed out milk.

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Bee Swarm!

March 23, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Bee swarms are absolutely fascinating. Several years ago, when bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey was teaching a queen- rearing class at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis, her students received an extra bonus: they witnessed a bee swarm.

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