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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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The legendary Robbin Thorp in front of an almond tree on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis campus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Legendary Robbin Thorp: A Tribute Well Deserved

September 8, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal created a video tribute honoring the UC Davis faculty who recently transitioned to emeriti, he singled out one very special emeriti as an example of tremendous community, academic and scientific engagement: Robbin Thorp (1933-2019), distinguished eme...
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A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Monarch Takes Flight

September 7, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A monarch on the move... When you see a monarch foraging on a flower, have you ever seen them--or photographed them--taking flight? It's not your iconic image of monarch, but a few twists and turns, jumble of colors and jagged lines, and the monarch takes flight.
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An Anise Swallowtail, sipping nectar from a red zinnia, seems unaware of a buzzing honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee-Butterfly Battle Over a Zinnia

September 5, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
An Anise Swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon, settles on a red zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden and begins sipping the nectar. A honey bee buzzes by. Was she just passing through or did she want the same nectar? The bee brushes the butterfly's wings. Okay! I'm leaving! Score: Bee, 1; butterfly 0.
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