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.

CABBAGE WHITE BUTTERFLY--This is a Pieris rapae similar to what UC Davis professor Art Shapiro found Jan. 20. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

He Did It!

January 20, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

He did it. I knew he would Hardly anyone can beat University of California, Davis professor Arthur Shapiro in finding the first cabbage white butterfly of the year. For the past 38 years, he's been hosting a "Beer-for-Butterfly" contest.

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HERE'S LOOKING AT YOU--A praying mantis shows no fear. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

On Your Knees!

January 19, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The praying mantis glared at me. It was not afraid of me, my camera, or my jockeying around to get a better position. When I captured the image (below) last fall in a neighbor's garden, I decided that in 2009, I would get my very own praying mantis. Or maybe dozens of them.

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TEAM B.E.E.S.--These high school students from Allendale, N.J., are learning to be beekeepers and are educating the public about the importance of bees. From left are Camila Robbins, Bryan DiBlasi, Malith Waharaka, Colin Bassett, and Manny Gonzalez. However, Allendale prohibits backyard beekeeping. They're lobbying to change the ordinance.

What Would We Do Without the Bees?

January 16, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Dianne DiBlasi is frustrated. Shes the advisor of Team B.E.E.S. (Bergen Environmental Effort to Save Bees), a group of six high school students in Allendale, N.J. involved in a honey bee project.

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BEE CRUSADER--Katie Brown, 6, of Phoenix, Ariz., loves bees and just donated $20 from her allowance savings to the UC Davis honey bee research program.

Our Young Bee Crusaders

January 15, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Dear Bee Scientists, wrote 6-year-old Katie Brown of Phoenix, Ariz. I am giving this money to you so you can help the bees. I love the bees. She enclosed $20 from her allowance savings. Hannah Fisher Gray, 11, of Wilmington, Del.

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TINY PREDATOR--This juvenile Gambian spotted-eyed flower mantis, less than an inch long, is one of the live specimens at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Tiny Predator

January 14, 2009

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you meander over to the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis campus, you'll see a very tiny predator that looks for all the world like a green leaf. It's the Gambian spotted-eye flower mantis and it's one of the many live specimens housed there.

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