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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. 

Potato capsid, Closterotomus norvegicus, feeding on a chrysanthemum blossom. It also feeds on nettle, clover and cannabis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Fancy Meeting You Here, Mr. Potato Capsid

July 5, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
One potato, two potato, three potato, four... You never know what will pop up in a pollinator garden. Meet Mr. Potato Capsid, Closterotomus norvegicus, often found on nettle, potato, clover and cannabis.
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It's early morning, and a soldier beetle stirs in a Vacaville garden. A beneficial insect, it eats aphids and other soft-bodied insects. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why Soldier Beetles Deserve the Aphid Belt

July 4, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's the Fourth of July and what better time to post images of the aptly name "soldier beetles" than today. These insects (family Cantharidae) resemble the uniforms of the British soldiers of the American Revolution, which is apparently how their name originated.
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A cabbage white butterfly nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cinderella and the White Cabbage Butterfly

July 2, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If Cinderella were a butterfly, she'd probably be a white cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae. The butterfly--in its larval stage it's a pest of cucurbits--is stunning as an adult. Just think of a flowing white gown, exquisite pirouettes, and a flutter like no other.
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A horizontal view of male Melissodes bees sleeping on a lavender stem. Image taken just after dawn in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why It's Called a 'Boys' Night Out'

July 1, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ever seen the male longhorned bees, Melissodes agilis, zipping around your garden, trying to bump all critters, large and small, off of "their" blossoms? They own them, ya' know. These male bees are SO territorial.
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