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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. 

We Have No Rapae!

January 13, 2017
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"We have no rapae!" No rapae today! That's the latest report from Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis. He's sponsoring his annual Butterfly-for-a-Beer Contest and it's Day 13, Friday the 13th.
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Those Migrating Insects: Why the Skies Are Getting Crowded

January 12, 2017
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Despite the widespread interest in migrating monarch butterflies, other insects migrate, too. That's way we were excited to see National Public Radio's Nell Greenfieldboyce generate a recent piece on "Bugs Abound: If You Think the Skies Are Crowded, You Have No Idea.
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Saving the Rusty-Patched Bumble Bee

January 10, 2017
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hear that buzz? That's the sound of success. It finally happened. The beleaguered rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis, is now listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species, the first bee in the continental United States to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
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It Is Not a Good Time to Be a Butterfly

January 9, 2017
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It is not a good time to be a butterfly. Especially if you're a monarch butterfly that eclosed on Jan. 5 in cold and rainy Vacaville, Calif. while all--or most--of your counterparts are overwintering along coastal California or in central Mexico.
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