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.

LADYBUGS converging on a plum tree leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why We Love Ladybugs

April 8, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

There's a good reason why lady beetles, aka ladybugs, are prevalent this time of year: aphids. Ladybugs, from the family Coccinellidae, are actually beetles with voracious appetites for those soft-bodied insects that suck plant juices. Wherever there are aphids, you'll usually see ladybugs.

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SOLDIER BEETLE, perched on a plum tree leaf, checks it surroundings. It's an avid aphid-eater. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Leather Wings

April 7, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Some call them "soldier beetles." Some call them "leather-winged beetles." Some call them "Cantharids" (family Cantharidae). Whatever you call them, be sure to welcome them to your garden. They eat aphids, lots of aphids. Like the good soldiers they are, they're ready to do battle.

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Festooning

April 6, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

That old saying, "Be all you can be," should be changed to "Bee all you can bee.

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BRUCE HAMMOCK, distinguished professor of entomology at UC Davis, in his habitat on the garden level of Briggs Hall. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

From Moths to Medicine

April 5, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

From moths to medicine... When distinguished professor Bruce Hammock of the UC Davis Department of Entomology speaks at the department's noonhour seminar tomorrow (Wednesday, April 6) in 122 Briggs Hall, his topic is sure to draw attention.

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HONEY BEES work the almonds at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee-ing There for the Vote

April 4, 2011

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Beekeepers with more than 50 colonies and who do business in California will soon have the opportunity to help support honey bee research.

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