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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. 

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A honeybee (Apis mellifera) and a bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) nectaring on a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) in a UC Davis bee garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Are Honeybees the Most Effective Pollinators?

December 2, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
There they were. Together. The scene: A honeybee (Apis mellifera) and a bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) nectaring on a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) in a UC Davis bee garden. If you've observed honeybees and wild bees foraging in your garden, you've probably wanted to compare them.
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Illustrations for Fatma Kaplan's seminar on Dec. 1 to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology

UC Davis Speaker: Fatma Kaplan, A Go-Getter and Maybe a Genius

November 29, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
There's no doubt--no doubt at all--that Fatma Kaplan is a go-getter. And maybe a genius. Born on her family's 40-acre farm in Turkey, where they grew hazel nuts, Kaplan went from farmer to scientist to entrepreneur. Today Kaplan is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Pheronym, Inc.
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