Bug Squad

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.

Bugging the Bug Bowl Team

January 25, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

They answered all the questions correctly except one. And that one, they agreed, they should have known.

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One Little Bee

January 22, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It was a bee. One little bee. What are the odds of a honey bee landing on the window of a UC Davis vehicle parked outside the California Bee Breeders' Association meeting on a cool January day--Wednesday, Jan.

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Another Unwelcome Intruder

January 21, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

California's beekeepers not only worry about the varroa mite (aka Public Enemy No. 1), but the small hive beetle. As the state prepares for its annual almond pollination season--which usually begins around Valentine's Day--beekeepers from all over the country are trucking in their bees.

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A Day in the Life of a Virgin Queen Bee

January 20, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

We've all read stories dealing with "A Day in the Life" of principals, presidents and princesses. We're probably familiar with The Beatles' song "A Day in the Life," the final song on their Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album.

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We Have a Winner! Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest

January 19, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

We have a winner! And he wasn't even looking for it. A UC Davis graduate student won the Beer for a Butterfly contest by collecting the first cabbage white butterfly of the year Saturday morning, Jan. 16 outside his home in West Davis.

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