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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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Cheryl Veretto was first in line to take the California Master Beekeeper Program practical test administered in September 2016. With her is UC Davis research associate Charley Nye, CAMBP examiner and manager of the Laidlaw facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Master Beekeeper Cheryl Veretto: She Loved Bees, Plants and People

August 16, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Cheryl Veretto was the first to step forward. She and 51 other beekeepers had gathered that day in September 2016 at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis to undergo testing to become California Master Beekeepers at the apprentice level.
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Find the praying mantis! It's on the showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Memo to a Mantis

August 13, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Dear Ms. Mantis, We see you. You're trying to camouflage yourself, but we see you. You're hanging out on a showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, trying to catch a butterfly or a bee.
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UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal (far right) preparing for the chat session of the international symposium on olfaction and taste. Assisting him are students Efrain Vasquez (foreground) and Kelly Brandt.

All Systems 'Go' for the International Olfaction/Taste Symposium

August 10, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
All systems are "go" for a first-of-its-kind international olfaction/taste symposium co-hosted by a trio of scientists, including UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal. The Zoom symposium, Insect Olfaction and Taste in 24 Hours Around the Globe, begins at 9 a.m.
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