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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. 

BETWEEN THE BRANCHES--A beehive column, as seen through the branches of an olive tree at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. The bee box (fourth from bottom) shows a honey bee in flight with a close-up below. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Fly By

November 4, 2010
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
What's a fly doing there? Just soaking up the sun. A fly that landed on one of the two colorfully painted beehive columns that grace the entrance to the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the University of California, Davis, seemed like part of the scene.
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EMERITUS PROFESSOR Hugh Dingle, shown here wearing one of his favorite "bug" shirts, will discuss the rapidly evolving soapberry bug at a noon seminar on Wednesday, Nov. 10 in 122 Briggs Hall, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Soapberry Bugs: Evolution in Action

November 3, 2010
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Briggs Hall at UC Davis is a good place to learn about soapberry bugs. That would be "the rapidly evolving soapberry bugs." Hugh Dingle, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, will present a UC Davis Department of Entomology seminar from 12:10 to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov.
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'WONDER FLIES' sharing a squash blossom with two honey bees in Napa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Wonder Flies

November 1, 2010
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
They're called "wonder flies." And for a good reason. Folks wonder what they are.
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KATYDID foraging on a rose in a UC Davis rose garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Never Promised Her a Rose Garden

October 29, 2010
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Up close, the katydid looks as ferocious as a scary Halloween trick-or-treater. Its stance is firm. Its eyes glow menacingly. Its attitude: "Don't mess with me." We spotted this katydid on a rose in a UC Davis rose garden.
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