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.

UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey directed the Bohart Museum of Entomology for 34 years. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Remembering Richard 'Doc' Bohart

September 20, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The date of Sept. 28 is significant. It's the birthday anniversary of noted entomologist Richard "Doc" Bohart (1913-2007), founder of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis.

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Mason Walline won second place in the UC Davis Young Scholars Program "Summer Slam" (Elevator Pitch or short-version), competing with some 35 other students. (Photo by Ching-Jung Lin)

They Spent Their Summer Doing Research in a UC Davis Nematology Lab

September 19, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's great to see two high school seniors spend their summer doing research in a UC Davis nematology lab as young scholars in the UC Davis Young Scholars Program (YSP) YSP is a six-week summer residential program that introduces several dozen high-achieving high school students to original research...

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A monarch butterfly gliding over a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola on Sept. 17 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wings Up! Let's Go!

September 18, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Wings up! Let's go! The monarch fall migration is underway. "Unlike most other insects in temperate climates, monarch butterflies cannot survive a long cold winter. Instead, they spend the winter in roosting spots," explains Monarch Watch.

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A female monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotunifola, in a Vacaville garden at noon, Sept. 17, 2024. At left is a territorial male longhorned bee, probably Melissodes agilis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Monarch Kind of Day

September 17, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What we've been waiting for all season... A migratory monarch butterfly fluttered into our Vacaville garden at noon today (Tuesday, Sept. 17) and nectared on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. Then she treated us to a butterfly ballet.

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Spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzuki, on a raspberry. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tiny Bug, Big Trouble, Great Science

September 16, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You may have never seen this tiny bug that's causing big trouble. But agriculturists and scientists have. The spotted-wing drosophila (SWD), Drosophila suzukii, is an agricultural pest that is super tiny. It's approximately 2 to 4 millimeters in length with a wingspan of 5 to 6.5 millimeters.

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