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.

POLLEN-PACKING honey bee nectaring gaura. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gaura! Gaura! Gaura!

September 8, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Pollen-packing honey bees dangling from gaura (Gaura linheimeri) are a joy to photograph. Gaura, native to Louisiana, Texas and Mexico, is a long-stemmed plant with a burst of pinkish-white petals that resemble whirling butterflies.

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ITALIAN HONEY BEE forages for nectar on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Golden Moments

September 7, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Don't know if silence is GOLDEN, but Italian honey bees definitely are. Early morning Saturday, I watched a bee the color of liquid gold nectaring the lavender in our yard. A golden opportunity to capture her brilliance. She won't live long.

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FEMALE carpenter bee (Xylocopata tabaniformis orpifex) visits a day lily. (Pkoto by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Day Visitor

September 4, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Carpenter bees (Xylocopata tabaniformis orpifex) can't get enough of the day lilies in our yard. In the early morning, they buzz into the patch of day lilies to forage for nectar and pollen. When they're finished, it's easy to tell where they've been: they're covered with telltale yellow pollen.

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WALTER LEAL is a newly selected Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, a prestigious award granted to only 10 or fewer members of the 6000-member organization each year. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

From DEET to Sweet

September 3, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Congratulations are in order. Chemical ecologist Walter Leal, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, has just been selected a Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, a prestigious honor granted to only 10 or few members of the 6000-member organization each year.

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THE HONEY PEOPLE--Honey bee specialist Eric Mussen, the 2008-09 president of the Western Apicultural Society (WAS), chats with Liz Applegate, a nationally renowned nutritionist and fitness expert who praised the virtues of honey at the WAS meeting. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Show Me the Honey

September 2, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It was delightful hearing UC Davis nutritionist and fitness expert Liz Applegate extol the virtues of honey at the 31st annual Western Apicultural Society (WAS) conference, held recently in Healdsburg. Like many of you, we've always loved honey.

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