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.

A female long-horned bee, Svastra obliqua expurgata, forages on sneezeweed, genus Helenium. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Squad: Article

Does Sneezeweed Make You Sneeze?

June 2, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Does sneezeweed make you sneeze? Over at the UC Davis Arboretum GATEway Garden. off First Street in downtown Davis, sneezeweed is blooming and bees and butterflies are all over it. We didn't see any of them "sneezing.

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UC Davis student Kelly Aoyama works on a painting that will be displayed June 3 at a public art exhibit in Davis. (Photo by Diane Ullman)

Can You Keep a Secret?

June 1, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Can you keep a secret? The secret world of insects? And unleash the secret of soapberry bugs?

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Bee scientist Marla Spivak of the University of Minnesota keynoted the first-ever UC Davis Bee Symposium. (Photo by Dan Marshall)

Bug Squad: Article

The Bees Have It!

May 29, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you missed the first-ever UC Davis Bee Symposium on keeping bees healthy, not to worry The event, hosted May 9 in the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science by the Honey and Pollination Center and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, drew some 360 people.

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A male black-faced bumble bee, Bombus californicus, sleeps on a lavender blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Squad: Article

Sleeping in the Lavender

May 27, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's a delight to see boy bumble bees sleeping overnight in the lavender. Two species of bumble bees--Bombus vosnesenkii and Bombus californicus--have been slumbering in our lavender for the past several weeks.

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Bee hives in a sunflower field along Pedrick Road, Dixon, Solano County, in July 2012. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Squad: Article

Mark Winston to Relate Lessons from the Hive

May 27, 2015

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Lessons from the hive! Sound familiar? Honey bee scientist and noted author Mark Winston will speak on Bee Time: Lessons from the Hive at a special seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on Friday, June 5 at 10 a.m. in 122 Briggs, Kleiber Hall Drive.

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