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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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This is the world's largest hornet, Vespa mandarinia. (Photo by Terry Prouty, courtesy of Wikpedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Hornetboy1970)

On the Trail of the Giant Hornet

October 4, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A hornets nest is nothing like a bee in the bonnet. You dont want to mess with hornets, especially the world's largest hornet, found in many parts of Asia.
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Sunflower bee, Melissodes agilis, on sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Color Them Beautiful

October 3, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A brilliant sunflower clinging to the red ring of autumn. And here comes a common sunflower bee, Melissodes agilis (this is a female, as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis.
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Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Queen of the Queen Bees

October 2, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Great to see the Wall Street Journal feature bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey in its Oct. 1st piece, "A Scientist Teaches Drones and Queens the Birds and the Bees." Sue Cobey is world renowned for her work in trying "to build a better bee.
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Jakub Gabka, a bee scientist from Poland, held this expression for a minute during the bee beard event at UC Davis. This photo appears on the cover of the current American Bee Journal. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

To Bee or Not To Bee?

October 1, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
To bee or not to bee? That was not the question. There was no question. The answer was "yes" before the event began. When visiting bee scientist Jakub Gabka of Warsaw, Poland, studied at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
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