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.

NATIVE BEE SPECIALIST Robbin Thorp looks for native bees in an almond tree on the grounds of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. He'll be a keynote speaker at the 2010 Bee Symposium, set March 7 in Sebastopol. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Symposium to Help the Bees

February 18, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Robbin Thorp's many areas of expertise include the amazing diversity of native bees. He'll discuss their diversity, nesting habits and nest site requirements when he addresses the 2010 Bee Symposium, sponsored by the Santa Rosa-based Partners for Sustainable Pollination (PFSP).

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BEE BREEDER-GENETICIST Kim Fondrk mows the lush grass at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Springing Into Action at the Laidlaw Facility

February 17, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's not spring, but don't tell that to the folks at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. Today bee breeder-geneticist Michael "Kim" Fondrk mowed the lush green grass around the apiary.

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A SYRPHID FLY (problably from the Genus Toxomerus) heads toward a white ceanothus blossom near Tomales Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Syrphids Back Again

February 16, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Have you seen the little syrphid flies, aka flower flies and hover flies, hovering around the early spring blossoms? We saw half a dozen of them Monday, Feb. 15 nectaring a white ceanothus at the Marshall Post Office in Marin County. The ceanothus is a shrub from the buckhorn family, Rhamnaceae.

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HONEY BEE visiting an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

No Day Off

February 15, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's Presidents' Day today, a holiday for most of us but not for the honey bees. The bees are buzzing in and around the almond blossoms, collecting nectar and pollen for their hives. Nectar provides the carbohydrates for the hive, and pollen provides the proteins.

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UPSY DAISY--A honey bee gathers nectar in a white flowering quince in the Carolee Shields White Flower Garden, UC Davis Arboretum. This photo was taken Feb. 6. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Little Kick

February 12, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

There's nothing like a steaming hot cup of coffee to jump-start the day. If there's anything better than one cup, it's TWO cups. Well, honey bees like a little caffeine, too. And nicotine.

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