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.

Oh, Baby!

September 22, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What's not to love about a baby bee? At one day old, the worker (female) bees are exquisite little creatures. Helpless, really. They can neither flee nor fight; they cannot fly and they cannot sting. No venom. That will come later. They're all big eyes, fluffy hair and downy softness.

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POLLEN-PACKING honey bee buzzes over a pink begonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee on The Bee-gonia

September 21, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If there's one plant in our yard that the honey bees don't like, it's the begonia. Lavender, sage, catmint and sedum? Bring 'em on. Sunflowers, citrus and pomegranate? Yes! Yes! Yes! Rock purslane? Like rock candy. Oh, how about a little begonia, Ms. Honey Bee? Sorry, not interested.

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A HONEY BEE nectars sedum, a favorite among gardeners and bees. This sedum is "Autumn Joy." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Reducing Pesticide Use

September 18, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Good news! Entomologist Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and a member of the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences faculty, has just received one of three Pest Management Alliance Grants awarded by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)...

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A HONEY BEE nectars a dwarf tangerine bulbine (Bulbine frutescens) in the UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee-ing There for the Bees

September 17, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Apimondia. No, it's not a rock band or a new dance move or a new Billboard hit. It's the name of a worldwide bee organization. The 41st World Apiculture Congress is meeting this week through Sunday, Sept. 20 in Montepellier, France, and the buzz is all about what's killing the honey bees.

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BAXTER HOUSE, built in 1938, went up in flames on June 30 in a UC Davis firefighters' control burn. The grounds will now be a quarter-acre field of wildflowers called The Campus Buzzway. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's All the Buzz

September 16, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Rising soon from the ashes of the Baxter House fire will be the soothing colors of the Campus Buzzway. It's a story that began in May 1938 with a farmhouse-turned-lab-turned-eyesore. It will end with the honey bees' version of "A Field of Dreams"--the Campus Buzzway.

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