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. Feedspot lists it as one of the top entomology blogs on the Internet.

Pro Bee, All the Way

September 23, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The folks who devote their entire lives to honey bees--how do they begin?

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This is the research site at the Sagehen Creek Field Station managed by ecologists Louie Yang of UC Davis and Dan Gruner of the University of Maryland. (Photo Courtesy of Louie Yang)

Shattering 'Standard Knowledge'

September 22, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The times, they change. Standard textbook knowledge, that can change, too. It did today.

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Monarch butterfly watches as a honey bee crawls up a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Monarch and the Bee

September 21, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The mighty Monarch butterfly and the industrious honey bee. How rare we see them together on the same flower. But that was the case last Friday at the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden planted next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

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Susan Cobey checks out a frame at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

ABC in Argentina

September 20, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's a matter of A, B, C. "A" is for Argentina. "B" is for bees. And "C" is for Cobey.

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Drone fly visiting the Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Will the Real Honey Bee Stand Up?

September 19, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Will the real honey bee stand up? Not all bees are honey bees and not all floral visitors that look like bees are bees. Sometimes they're flies. A recent trip to the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

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