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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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This catch-and-release activity is especially popular among children in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. They catch, examine and release bees, including honey bees, bumble bees and carpenter bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'Bee There' Saturday at the UC Davis Bee Garden

September 18, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Want to learn more about bees, and what to plant to attract them to your garden? The Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee garden operated by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will host an open house, the last one of 2018, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22.
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Don't bug me, I'm trying to wake up. This female Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, peers over a blue spike salvia (Salvia uliginosa) blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Valley Carpenter Bees: Drama in the Garden

September 14, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Some folks call them "bumble bees," but they're not. In size, the female Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa varipuncta) resembles a bumble bee, but certainly not in color. The female Valley carpenter is solid black with metallic wings.
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A male Stagmomomantis limbata, as identified by mantis expert Lohit Garikipati, a UC Davis student who rears mantids, stretches in the passionflower vine. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Predator and the Prey: Just Wing It!

September 13, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Judge: "Will the defendant please rise?" The defendant, a praying mantis--a male Stragmomantis limbata--rises solemnly, stretching his spiked forelegs.
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Mantidflies use their front legs to catch small insect prey. This one was collected by John De Benedictis at the UC Davis Stebbens Cold Canyon Reserve. (Snapshot by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ever Seen a Mantidfly?

September 12, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Ever seen a mantidfly, also called a mantisfly? Bohart Museum of Entomology associate John De Benedictis, aka "Moth Man," brought a mantidfly, an insect that's parasitic to spiders, to the museum on Tuesday.
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