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.

HONEY BEE at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, samples honey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not the Honey!

January 5, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

How ironic. We recently wrote about Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists training honey bees to detect explosives. It works this way: they harness bees and place them in little scientific containers. When the bees detect the scent of explosives, they stick out their tongues.

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MORMON CRICKET, courtesy of Nathan Bailey of UC Riverside.

All About Crickets

January 4, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, launches its winter noonhour seminar series on Wednesday, Jan. 6, crickets will be first in line.

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SWAMP SUNFLOWER (Helianthus angustifolius) graces the entrance to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bees Love This Late Bloomer

January 1, 2010

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The swamp sunflower that graces the entrance to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis, does quadruple duty. It's stunningly beautiful. It's strong and sturdy. It's a late bloomer. And the honey bees love it.

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HONEY EXTRACTION at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Taste of Honey

December 31, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Honey! Say that at the American Honey Producers' Association (AHPA) convention Jan. 5-9 in Sacramento, and it's not a term of endearment. It's an occupation, a calling and a passion. This is their 41st annual convention and the talk is serious about the declining honey bee population.

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A NEWLY EMERGED BEE at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Victory for the Bees

December 30, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's being hailed by environmental groups as "a victory for the bees." A U.S. federal judge has ruled that the insecticide, spirotetramat, must be pulled from the shelves because it could be dangerously toxic to America's declining honey bee population. Starting Jan.

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