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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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Is there anything more beautiful than a golden honey bee tucked inside the spectacular rosy pink blossom of Anisodontea sp. ‘Strybing Beauty'? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Beauty at Its Best

September 27, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Beauty at its best. If see the perennial shrub, Anisodontea sp. Strybing Beauty,' a member of the family Malvaceae (mallows), chances are you'll see bees pollinating the rosy pink blossoms. It's an early bloomer, a mid-bloomer and late bloomer. Yes, it blooms year-around. It's a year-around bloomer.
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European earwig. (Photo by Beth Grafton-Cardwell)

Hanna Kahl's Exit Seminar: European Earwigs!

September 24, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you grow citrus, you've probably been introduced to the introduced European earwig, Forficula auricularia, the most common of the earwig species infesting the fruit here in California.
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Insect wedding photography: Two Gulf Fritillaries, Agraulis vanillae, in a Vacaville, Calif. pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Insect Wedding Photography: No Invitation Needed

September 23, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
One point about insect wedding photography is that you don't need an invitation to attend. You just have to keep your distance and not disturb the bridal couple. No sudden movements. No stressful impatience. And no camera flash, please.
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Find the praying mantis! This is a female gravid Stagmomantis limbata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Find the Praying Mantis! (Hint, She's Big!)

September 21, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Find the praying mantis. That's not too difficult, considering this Stagmomantis limbata is gravid (pregnant) and about ready to deposit her ootheca (egg case or "ooth") on a nearby twig or branch.
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