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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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A plenary session at the Society of Nematologists' meeting in Victoria, B.C. (SON Photo)

Congrats to Our UC Davis Nematologists!

August 20, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Congratulations to our UC Davis nematologists who drew admiration and applause at the 64th annual meeting of the Society of Nematologists (SON), held in Victoria, British Columbia.Doctoral candidate Alison Blundell of the laboratory of associate professor Shahid Siddique, UC Davis…
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Honey bee in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's Buzzworthy?

August 19, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If you missed it, World Honey Bee Day was Aug. 16.But, frankly, it's a day that should be observed every day, not just the third Saturday in August.The celebrated day appears on the National Day Calender as "The day (that) recognizes both the honey bee and the beekeepers who tend the hives. It also…
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Gulf Fritillary in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Host Plant Is Just That--A Host

August 18, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 The Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, seems like two different butterflies rolled into one. When it spreads its wings, it's as orange as a pumpkin. When it's resting, it's silver spangled, drawing the same kind of attention as a colorful flag flying in the wind.Its host plant is the passionflower…
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A honey bee nectaring in the UC Davis Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis Bee Haven: The Place to 'Bee'

August 15, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 The UC Davis Bee Haven is the place to "bee."If you love bees and other pollinators, love plants, love nature, and love to volunteer, you'll want to head over to The Haven--a pollinator paradise--on Saturday, Aug. 30. It's the last Volunteer Day of the summer, and will take place from 8 to 11:30 a.m…
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A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, waiting for a bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Ms. Mantis Missed!

August 14, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
     Yesterday we introduced you to Ms. Mantis, a young Stagmomantis limbata perched on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundiola. She was seeking a “fast food” meal of a bee or a butterfly, but they were much too fast for her.Today we observed her on a different blossom, ready to try…
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