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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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Lynn Kimsey (left), director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology at UC Davis, shows Richard and Evelyne Rominger a display at the Bohart Museum on UC Davis Picnic Day, April 17, 2015. The Romingers are both UC Davis alumni. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Late Richard Rominger: An Agricultural Icon

December 23, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
We were saddened to learn of the passing Sunday, Dec. 20, of agricultural icon Richard "Rich" Rominger, 93, former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the President Bill Clinton administration, and former Secretary of the California Department of Agriculture in the Gov.
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Are beekeepers immune from COVID infections? No, according to newly published research in the journal Toxicon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Beekeepers and the COVID-19 Virus

December 22, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Are beekeepers immune from COVID-19 infections? Newly published research in the journal Toxicon indicates "No, they're not.
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"On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 5 golden bees." This is a cordovan bee; an image taken in a Vacaville, Calif., pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The 13 Bugs of Christmas, Revisited

December 20, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's time to revisit the "Thirteen Bugs of Christmas!" Back in 2010, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (now emeritus) and yours truly of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology) decided that "The 12 Days of Christmas" ought to be replaced with insects.
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