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.

ENTOMOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENTS Amy Morice and James Harwood check out a camera. They were among the students in James R. Carey's class on "How to Make an Insect Collection." The video clips are now posted on the UC Davis Department of Entomology website. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

And All Within 10 Minutes

September 21, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When you were first asked/requested/urged/required to make an insect collection, where did you go for information? How did you learn how to collect, display and preserve insects?

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Black Widow!

September 20, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The very presence of a black widow spider, shiny black with a globe-shaped abdomen, strikes fear in most people. And not just on Halloween.

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HONEY BEE nectaring lavender at the Mostly Natives Nursery, Tomales. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Where the Bees Are

September 17, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty, emphasizes that if you're planting flowers to attract bees--and you should--be sure to remember them in the fall--not just the spring and summer. In the fall, food is scarce.

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BEE GONE--A webweaving spider with "breakfast," a honey bee in the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

She Didn't Come Home Last Night

September 16, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

She didn't come home last night. The little honey bee at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis, wound up in a spider's stomach.

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'The Human Bee Hive'

September 15, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Many beekeepers keep bees, but Norman Gary wears them. Gary, who received his doctorate in entomology (apiculture) from Cornell University, served as a professor at the University of California, Davis for 32 years, retiring in 1994.

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