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.

Beer for a Butterfly: Good News and Bad News

January 4, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

What's the status of the "Beer for a Butterfly" Contest? Do we have a winner? Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news: Art Shapiro found and collected a cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) on Jan.

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Why Pollination and Pollinator Protection Are Important

January 1, 2016

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you haven't already seen it, you need to watch it. "Pollination and Protecting Pollinators" is a 51-minute documentary by Washington State University (WSU) Cooperative Extension that explores how valuable honey bees are, why they're crucial, and what we need to do to protect them.

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May the Buzz Be With You

December 31, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Did you feel the buzz in 2015? The honey bees, bumble bees, sunflower bees, sweat bees...what a year it was! It's time to walk down memory lane--or stray from the garden path--and post a few bee images from 2015. It wasn't all flowers and sunshine.

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Can't Get Enough of Those Gulf Frits

December 30, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

No matter how many we see or how often we see them, we can't get enough of the Gulf Frits. That would be the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), a brightly colored orangish-reddish butterfly with silver-spangled underwings.

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Celebrate Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 13 at UC Davis!

December 29, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Is your 2016 calendar up on the wall yet? Or are you calendaring everything on your smart phone? No matter how you keep track of your "things to do," how about setting aside Saturday, Feb. 13? The University of California, Davis has scheduled its fifth annual Biodiversity Museum Day from 9 a.m.

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