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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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UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal is the recipient of ESA's Nan-Yao Su Award for Innovation and Creativity in Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Hail to the Chairs

October 12, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a Good News Day. The Entomological Society of America (ESA) just announced that among the 2011 award recipients are two UC Davis faculty: Michael Parrella and Walter Leal.
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Praying mantis with remnants of a meal. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's That Bug?

October 10, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you don't know what it is, don't kill it. That insect in your garden could very well be a beneficial insect. If you operate on the "shoot-first-ask-questions later" or "the only good bug is a dead bug," no telling how many insects--and generations--you'll be destroying.
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Predator and the prey: Assassin bug (left) corners a pest, a spotted cucumber beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Gotcha!

October 7, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It wasn't much of a fight. The assassin bug scored a TKO. Here's what happened: an assassin bug ambushed a spotted cucumber beetle in the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Faciility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. It was "good guy vs. bad guy.
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IPM specialist Frank Zalom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's Off to Berlin

October 6, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's off to Berlin for integrated pest management (IPM) specialist Frank Zalom, professor and former vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and soon-to-be-president of the 6000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA) Zalom is one of three Americans invited to speak at an internati...
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