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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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UC Davis Distinguished Professor Emerita Lynn Kimsey, former director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, retired Jan. 31. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis Program on Feb. 7: Celebrating Our Newest Emeriti

February 6, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Seventy-three is the magic number. When Distinguished Professor Walter Leal celebrates the newest UC Davis faculty retirees with a special program at the International Center on Wednesday, Feb. 7, he'll pay tribute to 73 emeriti faculty in the cohort. Ten will serve as speakers.
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The cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, is white with small black dots on its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Who Won the 2024 Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest?

February 5, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Drum roll. We have a winner in the annual Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest, in which the first person to collect the first cabbage white butterfly of the year in the three-county area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano, wins a beer.
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