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.

BUTTERFLIES abound at the Solano County Fair. Here assistant fair manager Chad Cabral (left) and Elisa Seppa, superintendent of McCormack Hall, look over a butterfly decoration. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Nature Meets Art

July 21, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Butterflies, dragonflies, ladybugs and honey bees. What exists in nature is replicated in art. We sculpt them, draw them and paint them. We create their images on everything from clothing and jewelry to quilts and stepping stones.

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CARNIOLAN HONEY BEE, a dark bee, is drenched from falling into a swimming pool. She is magnum black. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gone Fishin'

July 20, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's not just two-legged humans that take a dip in the pool. So do six-legged honey bees searching for water. When temperatures soar, honey bees scramble to collect water for their colony. They release droplets of water in the hive as their hardworking sisters fan their wings to "cool it.

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THIS GNAT-SIZED insect with a red abdomen is a female cuckoo sweat bee from the genus Sphecodes. Fished out of a swimming pool, it is crawling around on a net. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Seeing Red

July 17, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Its triple-digit hot and youre relaxing in a swimming pool when suddenly you realize you have company. A knat-sized insect with a red abdomen lands next to you. It looks like a wasp. No, it looks like a bee.

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Bruce's Big Balloon Battle at Briggs

July 16, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The economy is tanked. The cuts keep coming. The smiles fade. Not tomorrow. Friday afternoon, July 17 is the seventh annual Bruce's Big Balloon Battle at Briggs.

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HONEY BEE nectars an almond blossom. This is one of the photos appearing on Cooperative Extension's newly launched Bee Health Web site. California's 700,000 acres of almonds require two hives per acre for pollination. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee-utiful Work!

July 15, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Honey bees--what do you know about them? Do you know what the queen bee, worker bees and drones do? Do you know why bees swarm? Do you want to learn to be a beekeeper? Or, if you already are a beekeeper, how do you keep your hives healthy? If you're a researcher, what are your colleagues doing?

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