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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. 

DIVERSITY OF INSECTS--From the Madagascar hissing cockroach to the praying mantis to the grasshopper, insects are diverse. This is part of a collection owned by UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wonderful World of Insects

February 10, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Kids love bugs. And they love books on bugs. One of the bug books we bought our son during his childhood was Insect World: A Childs First Library of Learning, published by Time-Life Books.
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A HONEY BEE targets almond blossoms, a sign that spring can't be far behind. However, 2009 will be a challenging year for both almond growers and beekeepers, according to UC Davis apiculturist Eric Mussen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Challenging Year for Almond Growers, Beekeepers

February 9, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
UC Davis Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty for 32 years, says this looks like a challenging year for almond growers. There's this water problem. Think "drought." There's this honey bee crisis.
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IN THE LAB--UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes works in the lab. His research on the apple maggot and a parasitic wasp will be published Feb. 6 in the journal Science. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Biodiversity Creates Biodiversity

February 5, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Biodiversity creates biodiversity. That point comes through loud and clear when you read the scientific paper on the apple maggot/parasitic wasp research led by UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes. The news embargo lifted at 11 a.m. today and the research will be published Friday, Feb.
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THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS--The nymph (bright red) of the soapberry bug scurries down a tree trunk. (Photo by James Moerhke)

Shoulder to Shoulder

February 4, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Vacaville resident James Moehrke was out geocaching last weekend in the Vaca Valley Parkway-East Monte Vista Avenue area of the city when he spotted some red-shouldered black bugs. "There were many clusters, probably thousands of individuals, in the trees and a few on the ground," he recalled.
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