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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. 

A male Svastra dive-bombs another male on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). This image was taken with a fast shutter speed of 1/3200 of a second. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Sorry, This Blossom Is Taken

July 18, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
So here's this male longhorned bee (Svastra) sipping a little nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). As the late Mr. Rogers (1928-2003), star of the TV show, "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood," so often proclaimed: "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.
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These are Atlas moths (Attacus atlas), found in the rain forests of Asia. This moth has a wingspan that can measure 10 to 11 inches. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ready for Moth Night at UC Davis?

July 17, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Are you ready to celebrate Moth Night at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis? Mark your calendar for 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 21.
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Newly eclosed anise swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Saving a Butterfly: In a World Where Kindness Matters

July 16, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was a long awaited process, but it's a girl! And she's beautiful! It all began with finding two anise swallowtail chrysalids clinging last July to the fennel stems in our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif.
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