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.

Western tiger swallowtail nectaring Mexican sunflowers. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'Tiger' in the Tithonia

August 26, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Sometimes you can't get within 20 feet of a Western tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papillo rutulus). Sometimes it's a matter of inches.

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Mama spider snares two in one web. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Two for One

August 25, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Mama said there'd be days like this, There'd be days like this, Mama said... When Van Morrison wrote the lyrics to "Days Like This," a song popularized by The Shirelles, he probably wasn't thinking of a mama garden spider or her prey.

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Backlit honey bee on a purple hopseed bush. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Beauty of a Bee

August 24, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Sometimes the beauty of a bee simply takes your breath away. Especially when the late afternoon sun backlights it. Yes! All's right with the world. For just a moment in time, there are no pests, parasites or pesticides. There are no viruses, diseases, malnutrition and stress.

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Green aphid on Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Unwanted Floral Visitor

August 23, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What's that little green bug on the head of the Gaillardia? It's soft-bodied. It's miniscule. It's sucking plant juices. An aphid! We captured an image of this little green bugger shortly after we purchased several plants from an area nursery.

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Spider crawls toward its prey, a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not a Good Day to Be a Bee

August 22, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It was not a good day to be a honey bee. But it was a good day to be a spider. For days we watched honey bees, sweat bees and syrphid flies visit a patch of alyssum and African daisies in our yard. Their floral visits did not go unnoticed.

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