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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. 

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"Appropiately dressed" lady beetle, aka lady bug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Getting the Red In

January 29, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Forget about getting the red out. It's time to get the red in. And if you're a red lady beetle, aka ladybug, you need not worry. Ditto for the gentlemen lady beetles. You're good to go.
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UC Davis entomologist Diane Ullman is a key organizer of the two conferences focusing on insect-vectored pathogens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Did Anyone Say "Insect-Vectored Pathogens?"

January 28, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
We're still in the throes of January but already UC Davis entomologist Diane Ullman and her colleagues are busily organizing two consecutive mid-May conferences at the Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove.
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A Madagascar hissing cockroach crawls on the arm of a visitor at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Great UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day: Super Science!

January 27, 2015
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Sunday, Feb. 8 is a Super Science Day! Visitors to the University of California, Davis campus can visit six museums at the fourth annual Biodiversity Museum Day. It's a week after Super Bowl Sunday, and by then all talk about deflated footballs may have ended.
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