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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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A look inside a bee hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey Bee Is a True Communication Specialist

December 1, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Picture yourself as a waggle-dancing honey bee. You're dancing in the dark, on a small, crowded dance floor with lots of obstacles, and you're trying to communicate to other foragers where that great resource is.
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A female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, stares at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Last Goodbye

November 30, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
So there she is, a gnarly-looking praying mantis, the last of the season, and on her last legs. Last spiked forelegs? From her perch on a cactus in a Vacaville garden, this Stagmomantis limbata is neither praying nor preying. She is staring.
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Honey bees at work in the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Professor James Nieh: Deciphering Honey Bee Communication

November 27, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The fascinating world of honey bee communication! The next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar will feature professor James Nieh, a bee biologist in the Section of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, Division of Biological Sciences, UC San Diego and associate dean in the Division...
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