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.

These three UC Davis doctoral students won the President's Prize in their specific categories at the Entomological Society of America meeting in National Harbor, Md. From left are Shawn Christensen, doctoral candidate and Lexie Martin, doctoral student, both of the Rachel Vannette lab; and doctoral student Iris Quayle of the Jason Bond lab.

Article

Congrats to Three UC Davis Doctoral Students for Their Outstanding ESA Presentations

November 9, 2023

Congratulations to UC Davis doctoral students Shawn Christensen, Lexie Martin and Iris Quayle! They each won the President's Prize (first-place) for their graduate student research presentations this week at the Entomological Society of America (ESA) meeting in National Harbor, Md.

View Article

An assassin fly sketched by UC Davis doctoral alumna Charlotte Herbert Alberts, who is both an entomologist and an artist. (Copyrighted image by Charlotte Alberts, used with permission)

Article

Charlotte Alberts and Those Fascinating Assassin Flies

November 8, 2023

Oh, the common names that insects bear...murder hornets, killer bees, cow killers, biting lice, assassin flies...

View Article

An image from the Entomological Society of America's website.

Article

'Entomology 2023' Underway: Insects and Influence!

November 7, 2023

"Entomology 2023" is underway! The annual meeting, hosted by the Entomological Society of America (ESA), is taking place Nov. 5-8 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. The theme: "Insects and Influence: Advancing Entomology's Impact on People and Policy.

View Article

A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, ponders Daylight Savings Time. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Article

A Praying Mantis Ponders The End of Daylight Savings Time

November 6, 2023

Human: "It's the end of Daylight Savings Time!" Praying Mantis: "The end of Daylight Savings Time? Does that mean I have to stop scaring the livin' daylights out of a bee?

View Article

A tiny monarch egg, about the size of a pin head. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Article

Food for Thought and Food for the Monarchs

November 3, 2023

Is tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, a "bad" plant? Should Californians pull it from their gardens? No, say many scientists, including Hugh Dingle, professor emeritus of entomology, behavior and evolution at UC Davis. Professor Dingle is an internationally known expert on animal migration.

View Article