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 green sweat bee (Agapostemon texanus), on a cone flower at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollinator Gardening!

March 8, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you want to learn about what bees do, and how gardeners can support healthy pollinator populations through simple gardening practice, then this is for you: Your Sustainable Backyard: Pollinator Gardening.

View Article

Pamela Marrone is an international expert in agricultural biotechnology and bioscience

How Pamela Marrone Does It

March 7, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

With the global population growing from 7 to 10 billion by 2050, there is an intense debate about how to best feed the world.

View Article

Close-up of woolly bear caterpillar on Bodega Head, Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Feeding Frenzy on Bodega Head

March 6, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're planning to hike the hills around Bodega Head in Sonoma County, watch out for the bears. The woolly bear caterpillars, that is. Last Sunday, with the temperature hovering around 70 degrees, the woolly bears were everywhere.

View Article

Neal Williams discusses native bees at a recent conference in Woodland. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'A' Is for Almonds

March 5, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Bee specialists Neal Williams and Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology are among those quoted in a comprehensive news story, "Hives for Hire," published March 3 in the Los Angeles Times.

View Article

Malaria mosquito, Anopheles gambiae. (Photo by Anthony Cornel)

Tackling a Massive Killer

March 2, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's good to see that the UC Davis campus will host its sixth annual World Malaria Day observance. This year's event, set Wednesday, April 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

View Article