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.

FRANK ZALOM--UC Davis professor Frank Zalom, an integrated pest management specialist, will be inducted as a Fellow in the Entomological Society of America on Sunday, Nov. 16 at its plenary session. At the same session, he will be honored as part of the UC's seven-member Almond Pest Management Alliance Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Team that will receive the Entomological Foundation’s 2008 Award for Excellence in IPM. Other team members are Carolyn Pickel, UC Cooperative Extension, Sutter-Yuba counties

A Gathering of Entomologists

November 13, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When the Entomological Society of America's 56th annual meeting takes place Nov. 16-19 in Reno, UC Davis entomologists will be out in force. And they'll be highly honored.

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SIGN SAYS IT ALL--This sign at the Bohart Museum of Entomology offers the pros and cons of eating insects. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

I Did Not Want to Know That

November 12, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You may not know it, but you've eaten insects. Oh, yes, you have. The other day I meandered over to the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis campus, and a sign told me that. There it was--plain as day (as if a day can be plain).

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NEWLY EMERGED--A newborn bee struggles to right herself. Note the swath of yellow hair on her thorax. As she ages, the thorax will be smooth and mostly devoid of hair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Fuzzy Wuzzy Was a Bee

November 11, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's Tuesday, Nov. 11, Veterans' Day. I walked into our bee friendly garden hoping to find a honey bee. One buzzed erratically over the purple sage and rock purslane and disappeared. The rest are nestled in a hive somewhere, trying to ward off the cold.

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IN SUPPORT OF URBAN BEE DIVERSITY--Jaime Pawelek of UC Berkeley’s Department of Organisms and the Environment, discussed “Native California Bees: Looking for Cheap Urban Real Estate” at the Nov. 6 meeting of the Northern California Entomology Society. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Looking for Cheap Urban Real Estate

November 10, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Chances are if you walked up to a group of people and asked "Have you seen a Megachile today?" they'd stare at you blankly. What's a Megachile? It's a native bee, also known as a leafcutter bee. When most people think about bees, they think about honey bees, which are native to Europe.

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PRESENTATION--Entomologist William Roltsch of the California Department of Food and Agriculture discusses the light brown apple moth at the Nov. 6th meeting of the Northern California Entomology Society. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Good Question

November 7, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Most entomologists I know maintain a keen sense of humor.

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