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.

Yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) nectaring on California white sage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee Celebration

June 3, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Talk about a bee celebration! Folks with a passion for honey bees and native bees can head over to Mill Valley on Saturday, June 18 for "The Celebration of the Bees." To be held from 1 to 4 p.m.

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Crane fly resting on salvia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Long and Gangly

June 2, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The crane fly is as long-legged and slender as a runway model, but as gangly as a teenager. The insect, from the family Tipulidae, is sometimes called daddy long-legs (not!) or a skeeter eater (not!). They don't eat mosquitoes and they don't bite. The adults sip nectar.

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June bug, aka fig beetle (Cotinus mutabilis) at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Andrew Richards)

Cute as a June Bug

June 1, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You never hear anyone say "He's as cute as an earwig." Or, he's as cute as a "lygus bug." No. It's "Cute as a June bug," which could be any number of bugs, including the fig beetle (Cotinus mutabilis).

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Honey bee on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Golden Girls

May 31, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When you encounter a "Golden Girl" in your backyard, there's one thing to do: grab the camera. The "Golden Girl," in this case, is an Italian honey bee (Apis mellifera liguistica), the most common honey bee in the United States. Make that the world.

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Pollen-packing honey bee heading toward a rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Red-Eye Flight?

May 30, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Unlike airplane pilots, honey bees don't file a flight plan. They know where they're going because their sisters tell them with their waggle dances. Pollen. Nectar. Propolis. All good. Bees seem to really like the pollen on rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora).

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