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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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"Wanna make something of it?" Ten-lined June beetle. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Writing with Light

August 12, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
I've always loved the wit and wisdom of insect-inspired poets. God in His wisdom made the fly And then forgot to tell us why. - - Ogden Nash "The Fly" We hope that, when the insects take over the world, they will remember with gratitude how we took them along on all our picnics.
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“California's Gold” artists include (from left) students Stacy Matsuura, Joji Kume, Frank Sousa, Lesli Hamamoto, community member Joy Elson, professor Diane Ullman, alumna Feiyian Yoong and community member Barbara Engel.

California's Gold and Nature's Gallery

August 11, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
When the California State Fair, Sacramento, opens Friday, Aug. 15 for an 18-day run, don't miss "California's Gold" and "Nature's Gallery" in the UC Davis Centennial Pavilion (Building 3).
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Richard Bohart (1913-2007) on May 15, 2006, when he received the International Society of Hymenopterists Distinguished Research Medal, one of three ever awarded. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's Entomology?

August 8, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
I'm standing in line at the photo center, waiting to pay for the dozen 8x10 photos of noted entomologist Richard Bohart that I'd ordered for his UC Davis memorial. Doc, as he was called, died Feb. 1, 2007 in Berkeley at age 93 after a career spanning 70 years--33 at UC Davis.
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Michelle Flenniken

Meet Michelle

August 7, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Meet Michelle Flenniken. She's an insect virus researcher in professor Raul Andino's lab, UC San Francisco Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and she's the newly selected Hagen-Dazs Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Davis.
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UC Davis apiculturist Eric Mussen (left) explains bee behavior to Keir Reavie, head of the Biological and Agriculture Sciences Department at Shields Library. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Honey of a Ride

August 6, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A funny thing happened on the way from El Cerrito to UC Davis on Friday, Aug. 1. And it wasn't even Friday the 13th. At 7 a.m., a group of UC Davis employees approached their commuter van in an El Cerrito parking lot.
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