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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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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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A wind-swept meadowhawk, Sympetrum corruptum, perches on a fence post after feasting on prey on July 1, 2018 in Vacaville, Calif. This was taken just after sunrise with a 200mm macro lens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dragonflies En Masse

July 11, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
So there they were, literally dozens of dragonflies flying around two separate Vacaville (Calif.) yards, feasting on swirling clouds of prey (gnatlike insects) and then touching down on blades of grass or fence posts. They proved as elusive as a celebrities attempting to avoid a paparazzi.
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Brothers Craig and Lee Hazeltine recently honored Bill Hazeltine Research Award recipients Olivia Winokur and Maribel "Mimi" Portilla at a luncheon. UC Davis medical entomologist Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology, joined them. From left are Geoffrey Attardo, Craig Hazeltine, Lee Hazeltine and Maribel Portilla. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Work of William Hazeltine II Lives On

July 10, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The late medical entomologist William Emery Hazeltine II (1926-1994) worked tirelessly in mosquito research and public health. Thanks to the generosity of his family, his work is continuing through memorial research grants to outstanding graduate students at the University of California, Davis.
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