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.

Bruce Graham Hammock at the Observation Basin in Kings Canyon National Park, a large fishless basin where much of his research occurred.

Getting the Drift

November 23, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's exciting to see a son follow in the footsteps of his father: soon there will be more than one Hammock with a Ph.D. at the University of California, Davis.

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Squash bee inside pumpkin blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Thanks Be to the Squash Bee

November 22, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If youre having pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes and pumpkin pie today (Thanksgiving), you can thank a squash bee. The photos posted below are genus Peponapis, common name "squash bee." They emerge in mid- to late summer, nest in the ground, and are approximately half an inch in length.

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BEFORE: Hulahalla, a three-year-old thoroughbred filly with acute laminitis in both front feet. She refused to stand up. (Photo courtesy of Alonso Guedes)

The Insect Connection

November 21, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The UC Davis news circulating around the world about a horses remarkable recovery from laminitis--thanks to an experimental compound--has an insect connection. But first: the news story.

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Navel orangeworms lay their eggs in almonds, pistachios and walnuts, with the resulting caterpillars (larvae) causing major damage. This is an adult on a pistachio. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Amazing Project

November 20, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

This research project looks very promising. A ripple effect, if you will... UC Davis entomology graduate student Kevin Rayne Cloonan not only won a coveted award for his research presentation at the 60th meeting of the Entomological Society of America in Knoxville, Tenn.

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Leia Matern (far left) shows Vivienne Statham (center) and Tilly Matern the honey bee observation hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Let's Hear It for 'The Buzz'

November 19, 2012

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's such a joy to see little kids fascinated with bugs. The UC Davis-based Bohart Museum of Entomology, home of nearly eight million insect specimens, is a good place to start.

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