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.

Larvae of an owlet moth turned bright red by the parasitic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. (Photo by Teresa Willis)

Getting the Red Out

November 3, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What's that? When award-winning photographer Teresa Willis of Vacaville encountered a red caterpillar on a dirt road at about 6000 feet in a canyon north of Paradise Valley, Nev., she did what photographers do--she captured an image of it.

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Ants crawl along a vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In Pursuit of Ants

November 2, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Ants are such tiny critters. But they're much more than that. Much more. Ant specialist Brian Fisher, an entomologist with the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, describes ants as "industrious, tenacious workers who live in colonies and obey a hierarchy of rulers.

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Tachinid fly (Peleteria species) on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why Flies Are Fantastic

November 1, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You want to know why flies are fantastic? They are, you know. Just ask Martin Hauser of the Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). He'll discuss "Why Flies Are Fantastic" at the Northern California Entomology Society meeting, set from 9:15 to 3 p.m.

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Proboscis or tongue of a fiery skipper dipped in nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tongue in Cheek

October 31, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Have you ever looked closely at a fiery skipper (Hylephila phyleus) and seen its proboscis, aka tongue or feeding tube? If you stay still and don't shadow it while it's nectaring, you'll see the proboscis darting in an out of a blossom.

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Whack! Tabatha Yang, the Bohart Museum's education and outreach coordinator, takes aim at a mosquito pinata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Blood Bugs at the Bohart

October 28, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Wear your favorite insect costume. Show off your insect tattoo. When the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis hosts its pre-Halloween open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 30, it promises to be a "blood-suckin' good time." And it's free and open to the public.

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