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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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Professors Dave Wyatt and Fran Keller in Belize on their collection trip. They will be showing some of their insect specimens Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Bohart Museum of Entomology during the campuswide Biodiversity Museum Day. (Photo courtesy of Fran Keller)

Bugs from Belize in the Bohart

February 16, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Talk about alliteration. "Bugs from Belize in the Bohart." It doesn't get any more bugly than that. That would be the exhibit at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. It's part of the seventh annual Biodiversity Museum Day, an all-day event set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb.
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"It's Bugged: Insects' Role in Design," an exhibit in Cruess Hall that explores the connection between insects and people, will be open from noon to 4 p.m. on Feb. 17. The image of bees is the work of Alex Wild. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'Get Bugged' at Design Museum on Biodiversity Museum Day

February 14, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's bugged. Yes, it is. When you attend the seventh annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 17 to see 13 museums or collections, be sure to see It's Bugged: Insects' Role in Design, an exhibit in Cruess Hall that explores the connection between insects and people.
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This praying mantis, nicknamed "Watermelon," is an adult female Australian rainforest mantis, Hierodula majuscola, part of the collection of UC Davis entomology student Lohit Garikipati. He will display this mantis and others from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 17 at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Meet and Greet 'Watermelon' at the Bohart Museum of Entomology

February 12, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Have you ever said "Hi" to a watermelon? No? Well, you can "meet and greet" a watermelon at the Bohart Museum of Entomology during the seventh annual campuswide Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 17 at the University of California, Davis. But you can't thump it.
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