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.

2010 CHAMPIONSHIP LINNAEAN TEAM is Ohio State. From left are Joshua Bryant, Kaitlin Uppstrom, Nicola Gallagher and Glene Mynhardt, battling with UC Davis. Ryan Caesar (not pictured) later participated on the team. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Name That Bug!

December 31, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Emcee Tom Turpin of Purdue University stood at the podium and acknowledged he might mispronounce an entomology student's name. "If it sounds anything like your name and Im looking at you, thats you.

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To Catch a Cabbage White

December 30, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

So you're out roaming the countryside or cityscape in Solano, Yolo or Sacramento counties at the start of the new year and you encounter a Cabbage White butterfly.

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ARTIST Christopher Marley presented a talk on "Aesthetic Entomology" at the 58th annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Insect Art

December 29, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You'd never know by his stunning art work that Christopher Marley once hated insects. (At right: a portion of his spectacular "Coleoptera Mosaic.

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CHEMICAL ECOLOGISTS John Hildebrand (left) of the University of Arizona and Walter Leal of the University of California, Davis, organized and moderated a lively discussion at their seminar at the Entomological Society of America's 58th annual meeting, held recently in San Diego. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Interpreting the Chemical Cues

December 28, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Most of us just finished a whirlwind of olfaction and taste during the holidays, but in the Walter Leal lab at the University of California, Davis, it's a full-time commitment.

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Lessons from the Ants

December 27, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

We can learn from the ants. Indeed, we can take lessons from the ants, according to ecologist Rob Dunn (right), assistant professor in the Department of Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh.

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