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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. 

TO BEE OR NOT TO BEE--Yao Hua Law (left) and Randy Veirs hold up the "To Bee or Not to Bee" t-shirt. It is intended to do double duty: to raise funds for the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Students' Association and to raise awareness for the plight of honey bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

To Bee or Not to Bee

December 9, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"To bee or not to bee." That is the question. What is the solution? The plight of the honey bees has not escaped the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Students' Association (EGSA).
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HAVEN FOR HONEY BEES--A honey bee gathers nectar from salvia (sage). Sage is sure to be one of the featured plants in bee friendly garden at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pollinator Paradise

December 8, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
There's been trouble in paradise far too long. Now, thanks to a generous donation from Hagen-Dazs, there will be a pollinator paradise--in the way of a bee friendly garden--at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis.
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APHIDS ON GAURA--These aphids are feasting on a gaura. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

They Suck

December 5, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Call them plant lice. Call them plant suckers. Call them aphids. The tiny, soft-bodied insects with pear-shaped bodies form denses colonies on plants. They suck. Literally. Their destructive feeding habits do not endear them to gardeners and farmers. No love lost. No lost love.
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THE FLY--A fly on sage, posterized through Photoshop. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Fly Away

December 3, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
God in His wisdom made the fly And then forgot to tell us why. --Ogden Nash, "The Fly" Every time I see a fly I think of the Ogden Nash poem. Our bee-friendly garden is attracting a few flies. I captured this one visiting sage and then preserved it for posterity: I posterized it in Photoshop.
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