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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. 

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A praying mantis leaps at a fluttering butterfly. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Monarch and the Mantis

September 16, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It happened so quickly. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) fluttered to the lantana for a sip of nectar when the unexpected happened. A praying mantis, lying in wait, leaped high and grabbed it by its wings. Unable to fly, the monarch struggled to right itself.
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Love in the bean field at the UC Dry Bean Field Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Love in the Bean Field

September 13, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Love is where you find it. And sometimes you find it in a bean field. Take the UC Dry Bean Field Day on Sept. 5 at UC Davis.
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Buckeye butterfly on sedum. Note the missing chunks of its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Miss Is as Good as a Mile

September 12, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A miss is as good as a mile...or a smile. The Buckeye (Junonia coenia) is a striking butterfly patterned with eyespots and white bars. We saw one today nectaring on sedum, but with chunks of a wing missing. Perhaps a bird or a praying mantis tried to grab it. It narrowly escaped predation.
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Apiculturist Dewey Caron at a Western Apicultural Society meeting. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey Bee Biology

September 11, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The newly revised book, Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, by Dewey Caron with Lawrence (Larry) John Connor, is a wealth of information. Published by Wicwas Press of Kalamazoo, Mich., it doubles as a university textbook and a "how-to" resource for beekeepers.
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Honey bee foraging on a tidy tips wildflower, Layia platyglossa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

About That Bee Nutrition...

September 10, 2013
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Honey bee guru Eric Mussen never misses an opportunity to talk about the importance of honey bee nutrition It's critical issue.
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