Bug Squad

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.

Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, in her habitat. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Helping the Bohart Museum of Entomology

December 21, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

"Americans spend millions of dollars on sprays and pest control devices or services to kill insects. Yet much of this is unnecessary.

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Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen being stung by a bee in an unexpected encounter at the Harry H. Laidalw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Bee Sting Felt Around the World

December 20, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Chris saw it first. This morning Chris Mussen of Davis contacted his father, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, and told him that the photo of him being stung by a honey bee made the Sacramento Bee's list of top 15 2012 stories.

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ESA vice president Frank Zalom (far right) of UC Davis with ESA president Robert Wiedenmann (far left) of the University of Arkansas, and Sonny Ramaswamy, director of the USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). (Photo courtesy of ESA)

Our Man (Entomologist) in Washington

December 19, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's going to be a busy year for UC Davis integrated pest management specialist/professor Frank Zalom. Make that several years.

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Beneath these weather-protective tarps: bee-box pillars. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey

Unwrapped!

December 18, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

For more than a week, tarps protected the art from the elements. The artists would work on the installation daily, then stop and cover the art, resuming only when weather permitted.

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Entomologist Jeff Smith, associate at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, talks about a rose-haired tarantula at a Bohart open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bug Lovers, Unite!

December 17, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you like bugs and live in Northern California, you're in luck. The newly formed California Bug Club has scheduled its first meeting for 6 p.m., Satuday, Jan. 12 in the Elk Grove Library's meeting room, 8900 Elk Grove Blvd.

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