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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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Honey bees love ceanothus, a plant that will be offered at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Saturday, April 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., and at the UC Davis Arboretum Plant Nursery sale on April 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Rain Won't Cancel Open House, Plant Sale at UC Davis Bee Garden

April 6, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Think spring. Think ceanothus. Think salvia. Think pollinators. Despite the rain forecast, the open house and plant sale at the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the University of California, Davis, will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, April 7.
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Booklice, Liposcelis bostrychophila, in cornmeal. This image was taken with a Canon MPE-65mm lens. The bugs are five times their life size. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Yes, You Do Eat Insects!

April 5, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Yes, you do eat insects! Maybe not deliberately, as in those who engage in entomophagy, the technical term for eating insects. Think of chocolate chirp cookies! Think of cricket flour! Think of making a meal out of mealworms.
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Close-up of a mealworm on Styrofoam. This image was taken with a Canon MPE-65 mm lens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Why These Mealworms Don't Miss a Meal

April 4, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Several years ago you probably read about the Stanford researchers who discovered that mealworms--larvae of darkling beetles--eat Styrofoam. And if you attended the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Dec.
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Close-up of the eye of a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee-hold: The Eye of a Honey Bee

April 2, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bee-hold, the eye of a honey bee! Have you ever looked into the eye of a honey bee? Really looked? If you read Norm Gary's popular book, Honey Bee Hobbyist: The Care and Keeping of Bees, you'll see just how marvelous they are.
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