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.

THIS PIECE, "Disappearing Mission Blue," by visual artist Carol Newborg of the San Francisco Bay Area is one of the ecoart works displayed this weekend in the Marin Civic Center Auditorium and Exhibit Hall, San Rafael. Entrance to the show, which continues through Sunday, is free.

Vanishing Pollinators

October 15, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're looking for vanishing pollinators this weekend, head over to the Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, and see the ecoart exhibit produced by WEAD, the Women Environmental Artists Directory. The occasion is the 2010 Bioneers Conference, focusing on food and farrming.

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Noted Expert on Botanical Insecticides

October 14, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Scores of people want to hear what Murray Isman has to say. And on Wednesday night, Oct. 27, they can. Murray Isman, a noted expert on botanical insecticides, will deliver the Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Seminar in Entomology at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct.

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Miss May Is...a...Ready for This? A Sweat Bee

October 13, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

This is no ordinary calendar. No oceans. No mountains. No deserts. Each month features a "pin-up girl." But these models will never run for Miss America or promote world peace. Only a few have social skills and most are solitary. Take a look at Miss May. She's a sweat bee.

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A HONEY BEE nectars red buckwheat. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

In the Pink

October 12, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You gotta love that red buckwheat (Eriogonum grande rubescens). Attractive to honey bees, native bees and butterflies, red buckwheat is flourishing in the garden. Okay, it's called red buckwheat, but the clusters are rosy pink. They're about the same size as ping-pong balls.

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Anise swallowtail caterpillar on anise, also known as fennel.. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Transformed

October 11, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's called a complete metamorphosis--from an egg to a larva to a pupa to an adult. Metamorphosis--Greek for "transformation" or "change in shape" is spectacular. And it's particularly spectacular when the subject is the Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon).

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