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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. 

A monarch caterpillar sharing a milkweed leaf with oleander aphids on Dec. 8, 2023 in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Monarch 'Cats Sleeping with the Aphids

December 8, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Sleeping with the aphids...that's what this monarch caterpillar was doing. It lived--and quite hidden at that--through the freezing cold, the rain, and the wind. It surfaced today on a milkweed in our Vacaville pollinator garden.
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A monarch sips nectar from lantana near a Vacaville supermarket. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Mantis vs. a Monarch

December 7, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Can a praying mantis catch a monarch? Yes, it can. And yes, it does. It was Sept. 14, 2013. As I approached a Vacaville supermarket, I noticed pink lantana blooming furiously near the entrance, and then, a familiar-looking butterfly quietly sipping nectar. "Ah, there's a monarch," I observed.
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Does Santa shop at the Bohart? Yes, he does. Items in the gift shop include monarch pins. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Santa Shops at the Bohart!

December 6, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
News flash: Santa shops at the Bohart Museum of Entomology gift shop at UC Davis. Yes, he does.
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A close up of the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association's all-time best-selling T-shirt, "The Beetles." Each image bears the family name: Phengogidae, Curculionidae, Cerambycidae and Scarabaeidae.

The Beatles vs. The Beetles: This T-Shirt Never Fails to Draw Smiles

December 4, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Remember the celebrated image of George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon crossing Abbey Road in single file outside their studios in London? It's the cover of their final album, "Abbey Road," released Sept. 26, 1969. All the Beatles, except Harrison, are wearing designer suits.
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