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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. 

Three nematologists kept busy at their booth at the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day. In front is coordinator Shahid Siddique, assistant professor, and his doctoral students Pallavi Shakya (nearest him) and Alison Coomer. In the back (far right) is Rob Blundell, not part of the lab, but who assisted. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Nematode Booth Wows Crowd at UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day

March 11, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Nematodes! The display of nematodes (aka "roundworms") at the 11th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, held Sunday, March 6 in the UC Davis Conference Center, drew scores of curious visitors. Many were dog owners with an interest in heartworms.
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UC Davis Entomologists Honored in PBESA Award Competitions

March 9, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Breaking news: UC Davis entomologists won three of the 12 student and professional awards given by the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America. The award-winning trio: Medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo received the Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology Award.
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Insect enthusiast James Heydon (front) and scientist Ben Maples (back), a UC Davis entomology graduate who works at the California Department of Food and Agriculture, show insects at the Bohart Museum of Entomology on Sunday, March 6 during the 11th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'A' Is for Arthropods, 'B' Is for Biodiversity Museum Day

March 8, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you attended the 11th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day last Sunday, March 6 in the UC Davis Conference Room or took a side trip to the Bohart Museum of Entomology, you may have gone home humming "A" is for arthropods. Or "B" is for Biodiversity Museum Day.
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Nematodes use tricks to modulate plant development, says Professor Melissa Mitchum of the University of Georgia's Department of Pathology. She will present a virtual seminar March 9 to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. (Photo courtesy of Melissa Mitchum)

Melissa Mitchum: Those Tricky Nematodes

March 7, 2022
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
You can't teach an old dog new tricks? Well, how about nematodes? They can do "tricks," too. Professor and plant pathology researcher Melissa Mitchum of the Department of Pathology, University of Georgia, willpresent the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar.
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