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.

Lickin' Good

August 5, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Varroa mites, those blood-sucking little parasites that are major pests of honey bee colonies, can decimate and destroy a colony if left unchecked. One way that beekeepers monitor their hives for mite infestation is "the sugar shake.

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Bring on the Carpenter Bees

August 4, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Carpenter bees, which to the uninitiated look like bumble bees, are nice to have around the garden. Maybe not so nice to have around your untreated patio or fences (as they drill holls in them to make their nests) but just think of them as pollinators, not pests.

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In Search of a Bumble Bee

August 3, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If Franklin's bumble bee were a human, you might think it part of the Federal Witness Protection Program. That's because it's rarely seen. Its narrow distribution range covers parts of southern Oregon (Jackson, Douglas and Josephine counties) and northern California (Siskiyou and Trinity counties).

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This One Rocks

August 2, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's not red but it definitely rocks. It rocks because it's drought-tolerant and it rocks when honey bees and bumble bees visit it. And it's pretty. The Penstemon x Mexicali "Red Rocks" is a white-throated cherry-pink flower.

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A World Without Mosquitoes?

July 30, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

A world without mosquitoes? An article in the July 21st edition of Nature asked that very question. Author Janet Fang, an intern in Nature's Washington, D.C., office, wrote that "Malaria infects some 247 million people worldwide each year, and kills nearly one million.

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