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 nectars a blue marguerite daisy, a member of the sunflower family. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Blue Day for the Bees

October 13, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's a blue day for the honey bees. The massive Northern California storm--one of our worst-ever storms and marked by heavy rains and equally strong winds--means that bees are clustering inside their hives. No foraging today.

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THIS EGG CASE on a potted plant outside the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis, will yield from 100 to 200 tiny mantises next spring when the weather warms. A praying mantis recently deposited her eggs on the plant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cold Case

October 12, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Here's a "cold case" to investigate. Check your backyard or neighborhood park and see if a praying mantis has deposited an egg case on a tree limb, plant or fence. Case in point: Over at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

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THIS VARROA MITE is feeding on a drone pupa. Varroa mites reproduce in the brood cells and attack the developing bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not a Pretty Sight

October 9, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's not a pretty sight--the Varroa mite attacking a honey bee. Beekeepers are accustomed to seeing the reddish-brown, eight-legged parasite (aka "blood sucker") in their hives. UC Davis bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

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TINY female sweat bee (Halictus tripartitus) nectaring rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Between a Rock and a...

October 8, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Caught between a rock and a...soft place... You'll often see tiny sweat bees nectaring rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora) in urban gardens. This plant, a native of Chile, brightens landscapes with its pinkish magenta blossoms.

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SUNFLOWER BEE, Diadasia enavata, forages on a New England Aster in the UC Davis Arboretum. This is a female, as identified by pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sunny Day, Sunny Bee

October 7, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The UC Davis Aboretum--particularly the Storer Garden--is full of color--and sunflower bees. A recent trip to see the New England Asters (Aster novae-angliae from the Asteraceae or sunflower family) yielded a Nikon moment: fuzzy-wuzzy sunflower bees foraging on the striking purple flowers.

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