Bug Squad

The Bug Squad blog, by Kathy Keatley Garvey of the University of California, Davis, is a daily (Monday-Friday) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008. It is about the wonderful world of insects and the entomologists who study them. Blog posts are archived at https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/index.cfm. The story behind "The Sting" is here: https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7735.

Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and UC Davis professor of entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Happy Taxonomists' Appreciation Day!

March 19, 2021

Have you hugged your taxonomist yet today? No? Probably can't due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but at least we can honor them every March 19 on Taxonomists' Appreciation Day. Basically, taxonomy is the science of describing, naming, defining and classifying organisms, both alive and extinct.

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A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heading for the Garvey nectarine tree on March 18, 2018 in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Where Are All the Bumble Bees?

March 18, 2021

Seen any bumble bees lately? No? Me, neither. It's almost the first day of spring, and bumble bees are as scarce as the proverbial hen's teeth. (Hens have no teeth, y'know.) We've been watching our nectarine tree bloom. It's drawing honey bees, but no bumble bees.

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Renowned organic chemist Wittko Francke met with UC Davis researchers following his Dec. 8, 2010 presentation. From left are chemical ecologist Zain Syed of the Walter Leal lab; chemical ecologist and forest entomologist Steve Seybold (1959-2019) of the USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station, and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; and UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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UC Davis-Based Symposium to Celebrate Life and Legacy of Wittko Francke, 'Mozart of Molecules'

March 17, 2021

(Editor's Note: Watch the April 3rd celebration of the Life and Legacy of Wittko Franke at https://youtu.be/HHQzvaJB33U.) Nature is more a world of scents than a source of noise.

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The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, has been detected in 17 California counties since 2013. (CDC Photo)

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Targeting the Yellow Fever Mosquito in California

March 16, 2021

If you've been following the startling spread of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, into California--it's been detected as far north as Shasta County since 2013--then you'll want to read about the innovative research underway by a team of UC Davis scientists led by medical entomologist-geneti...

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A honey bee on honeycomb. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Honey, What's Going On with the Honey?

March 15, 2021

Honey, what's going on with the honey? If you're a beekeeper, a food retailer, in honey production or just want to know more about honey adulteration and food authenticity and what you can do about it, this one's for you.

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