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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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Overwintering monarch butterflies in Santa Cruz

Wings Up, Garvey! Let's Go!

September 18, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Wings up, Garvey! Let's go!This year we adopted a migratory monarch through the Adopt-a-Monarch program of Washington State University entomologist David James, who is radio-tagging monarchs in Idaho and Oregon and recording their movements as they head toward their overwintering sites in coastal…
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Art depicting wetlands by Diana Almendariz

Good Fire, Living Water, Great Exhibit

September 17, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Oh, the secrets of the wetlands...Mark your calendars! You won't want to miss: the YoloSol Collective's wetlands exhibition, "Good Fire, Living Water: The Gifts of a Marsh Economy" at the Davis Arts Center.Opening Sunday, Sept. 20 and continuing through Monday, Nov. 13, it will include an interactive …
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Newly released ladybug ready to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's Not to Love About Ladybugs?

September 16, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 What's not to love about ladybugs?Well, they're actually lady beetles, because they are not true bugs (family Hemiptera), but beetles (family Coleoptera). Scientists have described about 5000 species worldwide, and about 450 in North America. Last Monday 250 beetles, more or less, graced our…
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Tobacco hornworm eating tomato plant. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Very Hungry Hornworm

September 15, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If you're a tomato or tobacco hornworm, you go through your larval stage with a horn on your posterior.You don't get to toot your horn. You use it to deter predators.You'll find a horn on both the tobacco hornworm (Manduca sexta) and tomato hornworm  (Manduca quinquemaculata), family Sphingidae…
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wen Erdosh, with a Harlequin beetle, one of her favorite beetle species. This image was taken in Peru. "Gwen is one of those students who instantly shows you her enthusiasm and enjoyment of entomology and it is just this kind of person who we hope will continue in this important field of science," said entomologist Jeff Smith, who curates the Bohart Museum's Lepidoptera collection. "For those of us looking ahead at the oncoming 'golden years' we need to ensure that there will be competent young scientists w

What an Online Entomology Course!

September 14, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If you'd like to learn more about insect science, take this Online Entomology Course!You won't find a more gung-ho or bug-go entomologist!UC Davis alumna Gwendolyn "Gwen" Erdosh, a globe-traveling entomologist, researcher, photographer and graduate student who shares her passion and knowledge of…
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