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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. 

Copper eyes of a green lacewing glow in the late afternoon sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Chantilly Lace...

June 8, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Chantilly lace, have a pretty face..." When Jerry Lee Lewis belted out those lyrics in his No. 1 hit, "Chantilly Lace," back in 1972, he wasn't thinking of a green lacewing. Perhaps he should have been.
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Honey bee nectaring on Gaillardia at Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Color It Bright

June 6, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Don't forget your sunglasses if you're heading over to the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee-friendly demonstration garden at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. That's because the Gaillardia is stunningly bright and beautiful.
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Yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) nectaring on California white sage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Bee Celebration

June 3, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Talk about a bee celebration! Folks with a passion for honey bees and native bees can head over to Mill Valley on Saturday, June 18 for "The Celebration of the Bees." To be held from 1 to 4 p.m.
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Crane fly resting on salvia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Long and Gangly

June 2, 2011
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The crane fly is as long-legged and slender as a runway model, but as gangly as a teenager. The insect, from the family Tipulidae, is sometimes called daddy long-legs (not!) or a skeeter eater (not!). They don't eat mosquitoes and they don't bite. The adults sip nectar.
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