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.

Pollen packin' honey bee (red pollen from rockpurslane) nectaring on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Winter Wonderland of Seminars

December 22, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Assistant professors Louie Yang and Joanna Chiu have just announced the UC Davis Department of Entomology's list of seminar speakers for the winter quarter. And what a list it is! It's a winter wonderland of speakers.

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Cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) on catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Beer for a Butterfly

December 21, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Beer for a butterfly. Now that's an interesting concept. Thats what youll getor the cash equivalentif you collect the first cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) of 2012 in an area encompassing Yolo, Solano or Sacramento counties.

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Chemical ecologist Walter Leal in front of a silkworm moth depiction. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Royalty Plus

December 21, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Call it a case of royalty plus. UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, has just received a double honor. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and he received a coveted award from his native Brazil.

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Camouflaged praying mantis having lunch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Shutterbug or Shudder Bug?

December 19, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

We usually see praying mantids, aka praying mantises, camouflaged in foliage and lying in wait to ambush prey. But have you ever seen them frying flies over a kitchen stove? You will when you take a look at an Oklahoma photographer's work.

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Culex quinquefasciatus, which can transmit West Nile virus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Mosquito Man: Stepping Down

December 16, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Most people have never served 38 consecutive years on an executive board that looks out for the health and welfare of two million people. But then again medical entomologist Robert Washino isn't most people.

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