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.

Sunflower bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, on Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Putting the 'Sun' in Sunflower

July 15, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's often mistaken for the honey bee. But it's not a honey bee (Apis mellifera). It's a different species of bee. Specifically, it's a long-horn sunflower bee. We spotted this sunflower bee July 11 in the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

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Queen bee, at the peak of her season, can lay about 2000 eggs a day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey Bee Royalty at State Fair

July 14, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's good to see that American Honey Bee Queen Teresa Bryson, 19, of Chambersburg, Pa., will be spreading the word about beekeeping and honey at the California State Fair, 1600 Exposition Blvd. Sacramento. The fair opened July 14 and continues through July 31.

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Honey bee foraging on borage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Borage! Borage! Borage!

July 13, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

A recent trip to the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Fort Bragg, yielded spectacular views of the ocean, but something else also proved spectacular--the honey bees and bumble bees foraging on borage.

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Inside the hive--every bee has a job to do. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Squad: Article

Bee-ing There for the Bee-a-Thon

July 12, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

There are marathons, read-a-thons, dance-a-thons, quilt-a-thons, paint-a-thons, geek-a-thons and sleep-a-thons. So why not a bee-a-thon? YourGardenShow.com is teaming with The Great Sunflower Project to sponsor a worldwide bee-a-thon, a free online town-hall event to be broadcast from 9 a.m. to 9 p.

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Flame skimmer (Libellula saturata) rests on a tomato stake after hunting prey over a fish pond. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Squad: Article

A Firecracker of a Dragonfly

July 11, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You can't miss the flame skimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata). You especially can't miss the male, which is firecracker red. We watched a male flame skimmer hunt for prey over our fish pond Saturday afternoon.

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