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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 yellowjacket (expired) placed on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Beautiful Coloration of a Western Yellowjacket

October 28, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's been several months since I've seen a Western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica. But there it was, dead. It had drowned in an outdoor water bowl. Easy pickings, you say? Easy photography! It's a beautiful insect with its black and yellow coloration.
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A Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Say 'Hi' to a Fly on a Friday

October 25, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you stand perfectly still and don't make any jerky movements, you can usually get a close-up image of a black syrphid fly, a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum. It's Friday Fly Day and this one was nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia.
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