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.

A CARPENTER BEE graces the cover of the current edition of California Agriculture. This spectacular photo is the work of Rollin Coville. See the California Agriculture journal online at http://californiaagriculture.ucanr.org/.

A Salute to California Agriculture

July 8, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Do you recognize the native bee that graces the cover of the current edition of California Agriculture, a peer-reviewed journal published by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources? Yes, it's a carpenter bee.

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PINK BLOSSOMS of this cactus, Echinopsis, rise majestically, but if you look closely, this plant has company. It harbors plant bugs (see photos below). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Marvelous Mirids

July 7, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

So, you spot a bug crawling up and down a plant in your garden. What is it? Plant bug. Plant bug? No kidding. The common name for certain members of the Miridae family is--you guessed it--"plant bug.

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THIS DOG TICK, from the genus Dermacentor, is an adult female. When she's embedded and gorged with blood, she will swell to about half-an-inch long. Here she's crawling on a ruler. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ticked Off

July 6, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Now here's something that will tick you off. You're taking photos of bumble bees and honey bees in tall grass near a wooded area, minding your own ISO, shutter speed and aperture. All's well with the world.

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A squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Yellow Blossom Special

July 3, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

They're up and at it long before the honey bees. Before dawn breaks, you'll see the tiny bees gathering nectar and pollen in squash, pumpkins and other cucurbits. They're squash bees (Peponapis pruinosa), sometimes called the plush bee.

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WALNUT TWIG BEETLE is smaller than a grain of rice. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A One-Two Punch

July 2, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When you look at the tiny unassuming walnut twig beetle--it's smaller than a grain of rice--you wonder how it could possibily kill a majestic black walnut tree. By itself, it can't. But when it's associated with a specific fungus that hitchhikes on the beetle, were talking serious problems.

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