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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. 

This tarantula was popular at the Bohart Museum on Biodiversity Museum Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Good Day for Bugs!

February 9, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was a good day for bugs. But isn't every day a good day for bugs? The Bohart Museum of Entomology on the University of California, Davis, campus, proved to be a good focal point last Sunday during the fourth annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day. It was one of six museums being showcased.
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Apiarist/pollination specialist Trevor Monson (left) talks bees with pollination ecologist Neal Williams, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Visit from Down Under

February 6, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was a good visit from "Down Under." Australian beekeeper/pollination specialist Trevor Monson, a second-generation beekeeper, and his son, Jonathan and nephew Reece spent several hours last week at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
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Peaches is the newest tarantula at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

She’s a Peach of a Permanent Resident

February 5, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Roll over, Rosie. Make room for Peaches. Rosie, the popular 24-year-old Chilean rose-haired tarantula at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, is approaching the end of her natural life span.
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A honey bee peers over an almond blossom on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Buzzword is 'Almonds'

February 3, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The wait is over. It's almond pollination season again in California. We spotted a lone almond tree blooming in Benicia on Christmas Day. And on New Year's Day, even more blooms. No honey bees, though. If you want to photograph bees on almonds, you have to go where the bees are. Bees at the Harry H.
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