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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. 

UC Davis doctoral student and nematologist Christopher Pagan shows nematode specimens to visitors at the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

More Nematodes in Outer Space?

February 21, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
More nematodes in outer space? It's true. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Pheronym, a company in Alachua, Fla.
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Entomologist/artist Charlotte Herbert Alberts wearing a red hooded sweatshirt: front view showing the Bohart logo and a tardigrade face. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'Bearing' a Close Resemblance

February 20, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
You've heard of the California Bear Flag, the one with the grizzly bear" right? It's lettered with "California Republic.
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A monarch on the American flag. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Of Presidents and Monarchs

February 18, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Happy Presidents' Day. It's day we honor not only George Washington and Abraham Lincoln but all the men (no women yet!) who have served as President of the United States.
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This is the back of the tardigrade hoodie, "The Bohart Republic" water bear flag. It's available in the gift shop at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. The art, reminiscent of the California Bear Flag, is by Charlotte Herbert Alberts, an entomology doctoral student. The Bohart has its own bear "water bear" flag! (Photo by Fran Keller)

Tardigrades Aren't Microscopic Any More

February 15, 2019
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Tardigrades, also known as the water bears, are microscopic animals but they're not microscopic any more! They're featured prominently on the newly available Bohart Museum of Entomology hooded sweatshirts, the work of artist Charlotte Herbert Alberts and designer Fran Keller.
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