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Bug Squad

Bug Squad blog image depicts a honey bee sting in action.

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. 

RESEARCHER Ian Pearse, a doctoral candidate who studies with major professor Rick Karban at the UC Davis Department of Entomology, examines some oak apple galls. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Lot of Gall

March 30, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Those oak trees (Quercus lobata) in Californias Central Valley have a lot of gall.
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COACH Larry Godfrey, Extension entomologist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology, calls out questions during a practice session. The graduate students (from left) are Matan Shelomi, Meredith Cenzer and Emily Symmes. Not pictured is James Harwood. The team just won the Linnaean Games at the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America and will now compete in the nationals. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sudden-Death Question

March 29, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Quick! What's the answer to this question? "I am a blood feeder; I have no hair but have a comb.
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TINY EGG, a future honey bee queen, is moved from a comb to a queen cell cup at the Strachan Apiaries in Yuba City. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Queen Bee to Be

March 28, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
One of the highlights of Susan Cobey's class on "The Art of Queen Bee Rearing" is a visit to commercial queen bee breeders in Northern California. Cobey is a bee breeder-geneticist at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis, and Washington State University.
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HONEY BEE sips water from a rain-soaked napkin. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Have a Drink on Me

March 25, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Diners know that a napkin serves a good purpose: touch the lips with it or protect the lap. Well, honey bees occasionally use a napkin, too. A recent sun break--blue skies, 70-degree temperatures, no rain--resulted in honey bees foraging for water on a rain-soaked napkin on the patio.
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PROFESSOR Bernie Roitberg, Simon Fraser University, British Columbla, will discuss "The Irritable Insect" at a talk Wednesday, March 30 from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall, UC Davis.

The Irritable Insect

March 24, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
His topic is enticing: "The Irritable Insect." We've all found a few species of insects irritable; some more than others. (Apiculturists know how grumpy bees are when they open a hive on a cold, rainy day.
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