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.

President's Prize

November 20, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

He knows his ants. Michael Branstetter, a doctoral candidate in entomology at the University of California, Davis, won a coveted Presidents Prize for his oral presentation on ants at the 56th annual Entomological Society of America (ESA) meeting in Reno.

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SPOTTED CUCUMBER BEETLE--A spotted cucumber beetle on a rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sideways

November 19, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The movie, "Sideways," has nothing on a spotted cucumber beetle climbing up, down and sideways on a rock purslane. The spotted cucumber beetle is a pest, while the rock purslane has to be among the world's most beautiful flowers. (And also very attractive to insects.

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LINNAEAN GAMES MODERATOR--Purdue entomology professor Tom Turpin moderates the annual Linnaean Games, part of the Entomological Society of America's annual meeting. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Let the Games Begin

November 18, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Quick! Name three states that have no official state insect. That was one of the questions at the Linnaean Games, a traditional part of the Entomological Society of America's annual meeting. This year's meeting, the 56th annual, is now under way in Reno. The Linnaean Games have begun.

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SPOTTED CUCUMBER BEETLE--A spotted cucumber beetle feeds on nectar in a rock purslane. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Meeting

November 17, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Last Saturday the rock purslane in our bee friendly garden drew a honey bee, several hover flies and one spotted cucumber beetle. A hover fly landed on a blossom, only to find a spotted cucumber beetle there first.

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HONEY BEE--Close-up shot of a honey bee at the Harry Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Squad: Article

Honey of a Color

November 14, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Honey isn't always amber-colored. It can range from white to dark brown, depending on the flowers the bees visit. Back in 1971, a group of UC Davis bee specialists wrote a booklet, Fundamentals of California Beekeeping, published by the "University of California College of Agriculture.

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