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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. 

Do monarchs celebrate the Fourth of July? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Where Are All the Monarchs?

July 4, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Where are all the monarchs? Not in our pollinator garden here in Vacaville. Milkweed? Check. Floral resources? Check. Praying mantids? No. (Haven't seen any, but they're out there!) Birds? Yes. (Nesting California scrub jays eat their fill of caterpillars, mainly Gulf Fritillary 'cats.) Shade? Yes.
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Joanna Chiu in her lab

Joanna Chiu: From Scholar to Professor to Department Chair

July 3, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Scholar, teacher, mentor, researcher, author, collaborator, leader, optimist and administrator. Those are some of the roles of Professor Joanna Chiu, molecular geneticist and physiologist, who advanced from vice chair to chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on July 1.
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A caterpillar featured on the Bug Squad blog's pictorial series that won an international award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Communicators Win International Awards

June 30, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Congrats to the University of California recipients of awards from the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), an international association of communicators, educators and information technologists who focus on communicating research-based information.
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The dwarf morning glory, Convolvulus tricolor, putting on a show. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Who Tie-Dyed This Flower?

June 29, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Did someone come in the middle of night and tie-dye this flower? No, just Mother Nature showing us some tri-colors: combining a brilliant blue, a soft yellow, and a creamy white in two starburst patterns.
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