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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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A honey bee foraging on Salvia "Hot Lips." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis Plant Sale May 20-24: Just Add Pollinators

May 19, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you want to draw pollinators to your yard, think of the plants for sale at the teaching nursery maintained by the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. A public clearance sale will take place Thursday, May 20 through Monday, May 24, with members saving 30 percent and the public, 20 percent.
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Cornell University postdoctoral fellow Manuela Ramalho working in the field. (Photo by Brian Fisher)

Ants and Science Are Her Passions

May 17, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Her passion is ants. And she'll be conveying that passion and her passion for science when she presents a UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology online seminar on Wednesday, May 19.
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Honey bees can't get enough of the tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. The plant yields both nectar and pollen. The pollen is blue. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Tower of Jewels: Christmas in May?

May 14, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Christmas in May? When it's in full bloom, the aptly named "tower of jewels," Echium wildpretii, which can tower as high as 10 feet, looks very much like a Christmas tree. Think of the brilliant red blossoms as red bells. Native to the island of Tenerife, it belongs to the family Boraginaceae.
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