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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. 

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Still Time to Register for the Wetlands Symposium on Sunday, March 17

March 12, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
There's still time to register to attend the symposium, Tule and Cattail: A Tale of the Marsh Economy and Its Role in Human Health and Wellbeing, set for 1 to 5 p.m., Sunday, March 17 in Ballroom B of the UC Davis Conference Center, located at 550 Alumni Lane. The event is free and family friendly.
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A walking stick switches to another hand during the recent Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hands Down or Hands Up, They're Favorites

March 8, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hands down, or hands up, those walking sticks in the Bohart Museum of Entomology's live petting zoo are favorites among children and adults alike. The walking sticks, or stick insects, belong to the order Phasmatodea.
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A bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging on trailing African daisies at the Matthew Turner Shipyard Park, Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Blooms and Bombus in Benicia

March 7, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
There she was, a beautiful yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, foraging Feb. 27 on African trailing daisies, Osteospermum fruticosum, in the Matthew Turner Shipyard Park, Benicia, Calif.
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