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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. 

A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, moves up a narrow-leafed milkweed in a search for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Let Us Prey

July 26, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
So here's this female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, camouflaged on a narrow-leaf milkweed, Asclepias fasciculari, in a Vacaville garden. If she thinks she's going to ambush a monarch, she has another think coming. No monarchs in the garden. If she thinks she's going to ambush a bee, no way.
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Iris Quayle of the laboratory of Jason Bond, director of the Bohart Museum, explains the differences between moths and butterflies. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Moths and Butterflies: What Are the Differences?

July 25, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
What are the differences between moths and butterflies? That was a key question asked at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual Moth Night, held both indoors and outdoors on the UC Davis campus on Saturday, July 20.
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John "Moth Man" DeBenedictus, a research associate at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, showed part of his moth collection at the Bohart open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Blacklighting at the Bohart: They Saw the Light

July 24, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
They saw the light. The insects, that is. Bohart Museum of Entomology research associate John "Moth Man" De Benedictus and colleagues set up a blacklighting display during the Bohart's annual Moth Night, held July 20, hoping to find a diversity of moths and other night-flying insects.
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A Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, nectaring on a butterfly bush, Buddleja davidii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Butterfly and a Bush: A Love-Hate Relationship

July 22, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When a newly eclosed Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, lands on a butterfly bush, the colors are striking. The yellow and black butterfly contrasts well on the purple blossoms of Buddleja davidii. While the majestic butterfly is widely loved, the plant, also called summer lilac, is not.
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