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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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A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, nectaring on a California golden poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Who Will Find and Photograph the First Bumble Bee of the Year?

December 31, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Who will find and photograph the first bumble bee of the year in Yolo and Solano counties and win the fifth annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest? In 2024, Fairfield resident Nancy Hansen won the contest with a video of B.
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Cole and Connor at their first Bio Boot Camp

Cole and Connor: Connecting with Insects

December 26, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The annual UC Davis Bio Boot Camps not only connect youths with nature, but with each other. Meet Cole Cramer, and Connor Hsu, both 15, and both students at La Canada High School, La Caada Flintridge, Calif.
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Santa and a monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Santa and the Monarch

December 25, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Santa Claus and the monarch butterfly share a commonality. Both are icons, easily recognizable. One may become extinct. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Dec. 10 its plans to add the monarch butterfly to its list of threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
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