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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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A jumping spider peering at the photographer

What's That Spider?

March 13, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 What's that spider?A common question on the Internet.Bring your image of a spider and ask the arachnid specialista at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house, set from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, March 15 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.The event, free and…
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Some of the native bee images by Krystle Hickman on display at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

Come for the Spiders? And Stay for the Bees and Butterflies?

March 12, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Is it "Come for the spiders--and stay for the bees and butterflies?"Or is it "Come for the bees and butterflies--and stay for the spiders?"Actually, you can have it all three ways!When the Bohart Museum of Entomology  at the University of California, Davis, hosts an open house, "Eight-Legged…
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Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Bruce Dupree Hammock

Date Set for 'The Life and Legacy of Bruce Hammock'

March 11, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Calendar this date, Oct. 10.The Celebration of the Life and Legacy of UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock, internationally renowned scientist and acclaimed member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will take place at 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10 in California Hall, UC…
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Charles Rice, Nobel laureate

A Golden Opportunity, Twice-Fold

March 10, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 It was, indeed, a golden opportunity, twice-fold, and what UC Davis undergraduate students in a biochemistry class taught by UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal will always remember.Five, 10, 15, 20, 30 years from now they'll be saying "Remember that biochemistry class in Kleiber Hall when Dr…
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Crab spider nailing a grasshopper. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Arachnids: Close Encounters of the Best Kind

March 9, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Close encounters of the third kind?"No, close encounters of the best kind!" say the scientists who study arachnids.That's what will happen when visitors at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house see and learn about scorpions, tarantulas,  vinegaroon, whip spiders, trapdoor spiders, jumping…
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