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.

UC Davis doctoral student Peter Coggan (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Don't Miss Bohart Museum Open House on Moths!

July 19, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

You won't want to miss the Bohart Museum of Entomology Moth Night on Saturday, July 20. So much to see and do, and so many moth experts will be on hand to answer your questions. It's all in keeping with National Moth Week.

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Close-up of the larvae of the greater wax moth (Galleria mellonella), pests of honey bee colonies. Also shown is another bee colony pest, a hive beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why These Moths Are Unwanted

July 18, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

As we gather to celebrate moths during National Moth Week (traditionally held the last full week in July and to be observed areawide on Saturday night, July 20 at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis), folks single out their favorites and non-favorites. For the beekeepers that's easy.

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This colorful moth is Arctia virginalis, Ranchman's tiger moth, a diurnal or day-flying moth commonly known as the Ranchman's tiger moth. In its larval stage, it's a wooly bear caterpillar, commonly found at the Bodega Marine Reserve and on the trails of Bodega Head, Sonoma County. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'Let's Go Mothing' on July 20 at Bohart Museum of Entomology

July 17, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Let's go mothing! What's mothing? The National Moth Week website describes mothing as "a hobby for nature enthusiasts who use light or bait to attract moths to a location for observation and data collection.

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Lepidopterist Jeff Smith spreading the wings of a butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Jeff Smith: Busy as a Bee? No, As Industrious as a Lepidopterist

July 16, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Busy as a bee? No, as industrious as a Lepidopterist.

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The resident crab spider nails a honey bee, as another bee continues to forage in the lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Saga of the Spider and the Bee

July 15, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

(Continued from the July 13th Bug Squad) Our resident crab spider, family Thomisidae, appears to be an extremely poor hunter. She waits, camouflaged in the lavender patch, as bees buzz around her. They dart away when she lunges at them.

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