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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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An urban landscape that attracts pollinators. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Drivers of Arthropod Diversity

January 16, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 You won't want to miss this UC Davis seminar on arthropods in landscapes by Stacy Philpott, professor of environmental studies at UC Santa Cruz.Philpott will speak on "Social, Local, and Landscape Drivers of Arthropod Diversity, Traits, and Networks in Urban Agroecosystems" at a seminar hosted by the…
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A wooly bear caterpillar at Bodega Bay. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Rick Karban and the Wooly Bear Caterpillars of Bodega Bay

January 15, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Ever seen the wooly bear caterpillars at Bodega Head, Sonoma County?UC Davis Distinguished Professor Emeritus Richard “Rick” Karban of the Department of Entomology and Nematology has studied the population dynamics of these caterpillars at the University of California Bodega Marine…
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Storer Lecture

Storer Lecture: 'Why Cooperate? Mutualism in the Natural World'

January 14, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 "Biologists have always been fascinated by strife and conflict, but cooperative exchanges, involving all species and networking large numbers of them into complex communities, are ubiquitous in the natural world. This talk will describe our current understanding of mutualism as well as the questions…
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Migratory monarchs overwintering in Santa Cruz. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Want to Help with Migratory Monarch Research?

January 13, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Want to help with migratory monarch research? Entomologist David James, an associate professor at Washington State University (my alma mater), has launched an "E-tag" funding project to determine where monarchs from Idaho migrate--do they head for the California coast to overwinter or to Mexico?…
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UC Davis Distinguished Professor Emeritus Art Shapiro. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

First Cabbage White Butterfly of Year: Still Elusive

January 12, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 The 2026 "Beer-for-a-Butterfly" contest, aka "Suds for a Bug," is still underway. No one has come forth.UC Davis Distinguished Professor Emeritus Art Shapiro, who has sponsored the contest since 1972, will trade your live cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, for a pitcher of beer, or its equivalent…
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