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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. 

A drone fly, Eristalis tenax, on a Shasta daisy at the Luther Burbank Home and Gardens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Rats!

June 9, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Rats! How many times have you encountered a "honey bee" on the Internet, in a book, magazine, newspaper or other publication, and found a syrphid fly misidentified as a honey bee? It's truly amazing how often syrphid flies are mistaken for honey bees.
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Honey bee foraging on safflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bees Really Connect with Safflowers!

June 5, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Honey bees love safflowers, says Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. That they do. Safflower fields literally buzz with bees foraging on the blossoms. Sometimes the pollen load is so heavy it's a wonder they can fly back to their colonies.
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Emmet Brady, shown here with May Berenbaum, talks about the meaning of the Insect News Network t-shirt. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Dying by Inches

June 4, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Did he really say that?" entomologist May Berenbaum asked. "He did," said cultural entomologist Emmet Brady, host of the Insect News Network. The occasion: a UC Davis dinner honoring Berenbaum, professor and head of the Department of Entomology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
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A monarch butterfly on a butterfly bush. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Make Way for the Monarchs

June 3, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's good to see so many scientists and citizen scientists taking an avid interest in monarchs. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), probably the most recognizable of all the butterflies, is known for its long migratory route from Canada to Mexico.
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