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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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FLYING IN--A syrphid or flower fly heads for a newly opened cactus blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

If It Looks Like a Duck....

May 14, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck. If it looks like a bee, buzzes like a bee, and visits flowers like a bee, it might not be a bee. It could be a fly, or more specifically, a syrphid or flower fly.
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A male carpenter bee (Xylocopa tabaniformis) nectars on lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

On Gossamer Wings

May 12, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Gossamer" means something sheer, light and delicate, as in gossamer fabric. You can also apply it to the wings of a carpenter bee. We captured this image of a male carpenter bee (Xylocopa tabaniformis) nectaring on lavender. The wings look sheer, fragile and airy.
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NEWBORN BEE: What's in store for this newborn bee and her family? (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Honey Bees: 'Are Things Really That Bad?

May 11, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
You wont want to miss the seminar on Bee Problems and Colony Losses on Wednesday, May 13 in 122 Briggs Hall, UC Davis. If you cant make it in person, you can listen to it live via Webinar.
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HONEY BEES--Checking the health of the honey bees at a hive at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis is Elizabeth Frost (right), junior specialist. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Smoking Gun

May 8, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A honey bee newsletter, "From the UC Apiaries" newsletter, written by Cooperative Extension Apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology Faculty, provides linformative and educational information for beekeepers and those interested in the plight of the honey bee.
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