Bug Squad Logo

Bug Squad

Bug Squad blog image depicts a honey bee sting in action.

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. 

FEET FIRST--A male carpenter bee glides in for a landing on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Touchdown!

May 19, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Insects love the lavender. Think honey bees, syrphids, and carpenter bees. The noisiest are the male carpenter bees. They buzz the lavender looking for females and then touch down for the nectar. They're quick, territorial, aggressive and noisy.
View Article
TACHINID FLY is covered with thick, dark bristles on its abdomen. In its larval stage, this insect parasitizes caterpillars, especially Lepidoptera. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Fly -- Oh, My!

May 18, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a curious-looking insect, the tachinid fly. The first thing you notice are the thick, dark bristles covering its abdomen. By human standards, this insect, about the size of a house fly, is not pretty. No way, no how.
View Article
SYRPHID or flower fly aims for a cactus blossom. A high shutter speed slows the wing action. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Patience in the Garden

May 15, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Patience. That's what it takes to capture images of syrphids, aka flower or hover flies. They are oh, so tiny and they move oh, so quickly. As the morning dawns, you wait, camera poised, near their preferred blossoms.
View Article
FLYING IN--A syrphid or flower fly heads for a newly opened cactus blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

If It Looks Like a Duck....

May 14, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck. If it looks like a bee, buzzes like a bee, and visits flowers like a bee, it might not be a bee. It could be a fly, or more specifically, a syrphid or flower fly.
View Article
Subscribe