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.

A male Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) nectars a purple sage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Our Halloween Butterfly

October 14, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Well, it's not really a Halloween butterfly, but it is orange. The Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus) visits us more than the politicians do at Election Time. Last Sunday we spotted four Skippers in our backyard. Only two politicians skipped to our front door.

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This drone fly, a female, is an Eristalis tenax from the Syrphidae family. It's sometimes called the "H Fly" for the pattern on its abdomen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

You're No Honey Bee!

October 13, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Remember the 1998 U.S. vice presidential debate when Sen. Lloyd Bentsen told Sen Dan Quayle: "I knew Jack Kennedy, and you're no Jack Kennedy!" Well, in the insect world, there's a fly that looks a lot like a honey bee, but it's no honey bee.

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An immature ladybug on sage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Luck Be a Lady

October 10, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Ladybugs love our Russian sage. Ladybugs, aka ladybird beetles, eat aphids, which are pests in the garden. The ladybugs are welcome. The aphids are not. Belonging to the family Coccinellidae, ladybugs look resplendent in their bright red or orange wing covers, dotted with spots.

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The parasitic tachinid fly feeds on nectar in the Storer Gardens, UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pity the Poor Caterpillar

October 9, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Pity the poor caterpillar. Here you are, minding your own business, and this tachinid fly comes along and lays eggs in your head. Good day for the tachinid fly. Bad day for the caterpillar.

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Cenizo!

October 8, 2008

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you've ever visited the Storer Gardens, UC Davis Aboretum, you've probably noticed the honey bees enjoying the cenizo(Leucophyllum frutescens), an evergreen shrub with silvery foliage and bell-shaped pinkish-lavender flowers.

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