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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. 

A Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui) nectaring on lantana on Black Friday. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Black Friday? No, Butterfly Friday

November 28, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
What did you do on Black Friday? Did you spend the night camped out in front of a store? Or did you join the throngs of people who left home in the wee hours of the morning for the doorbuster deals or stayed on your computer for the online onslaughts?
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On Thanksgiving, we're grateful we're not a bee, this bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

We're Thankful We're Not a Bee

November 27, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Today is Thanksgiving. As we give thanks and reflect on a day set aside to be grateful, we realize that not all is great in the world of haves and have-nots, the generous and the greedy, and troublemakers and peacemakers. Miscommunications turn into misunderstandings.
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A drone fly, aka hover fly and syrphid fly, engaging in a little acrobatics over an Iceland poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Drone Acrobatics

November 25, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The drone fly, aka European hover fly, aka syrphid fly, doesn't get as much press as the other drone, the unmanned aircraft. But the drone fly (Eristalis tenax), about the size of a honey bee and often mistaken for a honey bee, makes for great in-flight photos.
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The beginning of a black widow spider tattoo, compliments of entomology Jessica Gillung of the Bohart. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Eighteen Myths About Insects and Spiders

November 24, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Oh, the myths about insects and spiders! It was a fun and educational afternoon when the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology hosted an open house last Sunday. Visitors checked out the displays, asked the entomologists and staff questions, and looked over the list of myths.
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