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 cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, nectaring on lavender in a Vacaville garden on June 24. Next Wednesday, July 4, promises to be a scorcher at 106 degrees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Heat. The Butterflies. The Butterfly Guru.

June 28, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Don't expect to see UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro monitoring butterflies on the 4th of July. There's a good reason why. Shapiro has monitored the butterfly populations of central California since 1972 and maintains a research site at https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu.

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A queen yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on yellow bush lupine at Doran Regional Park, Bodega Bay. Note the bright red pollen. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bumble Bees at Bodega Bay: Lovin' the Lupine

June 27, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What a beautiful sight...a yellow-faced bumble bee, a queen, foraging on yellow bush lupine blossoms at Bodega Bay. She buzzed from blossom to blossom at Doran Regional Park while packing a ball of red pollen that seemed to increase in brilliance with every floral visit.

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A camouflaged praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Mantis on the Milkweed

June 26, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

So here's this immature praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. She's camouflaged quite well. She's as green and thin as the leaves. Me: "Hey, Ms. Mantis, whatcha doin'?" Ms.

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A honey bee on a blanketflower, Gaillardia, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Art of the Bee

June 25, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Thought for the day... Every time we see a honey bee "posing perfectly" on a Gaillardia, commonly known as blanket flower, we think of a quote by internationally known honey bee geneticist, Robert E. Page Jr.

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The banded alder borer is attracted to fresh paint, probably because of the phermone-like scent. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Behold: the Banded Alder Borer

June 24, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

So there it was, an exotic-looking bug resting against a freshly painted red bollard at a Vacaville supermarket. It was not there to shop. Or to stop vehicles from crashing into the store or colliding with shoppers. It was there, I suspect, because of the pheromone-like scent of the fresh paint.

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