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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. 

Counting Chickens, Counting Chrysalids

December 7, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Counting butterflies before they eclose from their chrysalids is sort of like counting chickens before they hatch. We've done both: raised chickens and reared butterflies. Fact is, you never know if a butterfly will eclose.
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Dear Santa: Let Me Bee All I Can Bee

December 4, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you're looking for a holiday gift for your favorite beekeeper or a wanna-be beekeeper (hey, that person could be you!), here's something you may want to consider. Bee scientists at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
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Monarchs Are Still There

December 3, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
They're still there. They. Haven't. Moved. The monarch butterflies roosting in an ash tree at the 14th disc golf course hole at the Berkeley Aquatic Park, 80 Bolivar Drive, Berkeley, seem to like it there. They've been there since mid-November. We drove to the park on Monday, Nov.
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Quick: What Critter Eats Styrofoam?

December 1, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Quick question: What critter can chew and digest Styrofoam? Drum roll...Time's up... If you answered "mealworms"--or the larval form of the darkling beetle, family Tenebrionidae--that's correct.
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