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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 is a big-eyed ant, Pseudomyrmex boopis. Alexander Wild, who received his doctorate in entomology from UC Davis and is now curator of entomology, University of Austin, Texas, captured this image in Armenia, Belize. See more of his images at alexanderwild.com. (Copyrighted by Alex Wild and used with permission)

Behold, the Big-Eyed Ant (And Brendon Boudinot Will Talk About It)

February 27, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's not just about the sting or those big eyes. Ant specialists and other researchers also hone in on big-eyed ants for their relationships with plants. Those attending a UC Davis seminar this week on big ants will learn all about them, including the phylogenetic morphology. Brendon Boudinot, a Ph.
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UC Davis diagnostic parasitologist Lauren Camp wears a papier mache nematode hat, modeled after a hookworm mouth. At left is nematologist Chris Pagan, a graduate student in entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Spotlight on Nematodes

February 22, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Quick question: What was diagnostic parasitologist Lauren Camp of the UC Davis Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital wearing on her head as she talked about the nematode collection last Saturday at the seventh annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?
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A young girl searches for bees amid the blossoms of the California native plant, Brandegee's sage (Salvia brandegeei) (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Heaven in the Bee Haven

February 20, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was heaven in the bee haven. As temperatures climbed into the seventies last Saturday, honey bees foraged in the California native plant, Brandegee's sage (Salvia brandegeei). and pollinated the almond blossoms. It seemed like spring.
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