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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. 

FIRST SPEAKER--Corey Keller, associate curator of photography for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, will speak on "Sight Unseen: Picturing the Invisible, 1840 to 1900" from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 12 in the UC Davis Activities and Recreation Center.

Consilience of Art and Science

November 4, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
What a series! You won't want to miss the Consilience of Art and Science speaker series that gets under way Nov. 12 and continues through April 9 at the University of California, Davis. The lectures are free and open to the public.
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HOVER FLY--A hover fly, mimicking the coloring of a wasp, is nectaring sage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Let It Rain

November 3, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ah, rain! Ah, liquid precipitation! Just when we were feeling drought-stressed, the weather forecast turned to rain. I don't know if "the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain," but the rain in Northern California fell squarely on our bee friendly garden last weekend.
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IN KENYA--UC Davis medical entomologist Thomas Scott, towers above schoolchildren in Kenya in a photo taken in 2004. (He's 6-foot, 6-inches tall.)

What's Medical Entomology?

October 31, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
What's medical entomolology? Anyone who's an entomologist or who works in entomology is asked that question periodically. Medical, they know. Entomology? Often not.
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The antenna of a honey bee pokes out of an abandoned hive. Colony collapse disorder? Perhaps. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Sad Photo

October 29, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a sad photo. The antenna of a honey bee pokes out of an abandoned hive. Victim of colony collapse disorder (CCD)? Perhaps. Everytime I look at the bent antenna, I think of a plea for help. Help me! Help me! Please help me! This bee should have been nectaring flowers or gathering pollen.
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