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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. 

Arboretum Plant Sale on Oct. 22: Yes, There's Life After Lawn

October 21, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Is there life after lawn? Yes. If you're looking for plants to attract pollinators, including bees and butterflies, then the UC Davis Arboretum's Plant Sale on Saturday, Oct. 22 is the place to "bee." A public fall clearance sale will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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Zeroing in on the Zika Virus at ICE 2016

October 20, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, probably isn't the only mosquito that transmits the Zika virus. That's what UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal, co-chair of the International Congress of Entomology (ICE 2016) recently held in Orlando, Fla.
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A Boy, Bugs, a Birthday and the Bohart

October 19, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A 12-year-old boy from Mesa, Ariz. with a lifelong interest in bugs, got what he wished for last week at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis. This story is about a boy, bugs, a birthday and the Bohart.
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Meet the Researchers and the Three-Cornered Alfalfa Hopper

October 18, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
UC Davis-based research involving the Grapevine Red Blotch Disease and the three-cornered alfalfa hopper, Spissistilus festinus, appears prominently in the news this week. It's the cover story of a special focus issue, "Disease Management in the Genomics Era," in the journal Phytopathology.
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