Bug Squad

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.

Greg Karefelas (left), an associate at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, shares his expertise of the California dogface butterfly with Rob Stewart of the TV program, "Rob on the Road."

Golden Year for the California Dogface Butterfly, But Questions Remain

February 4, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If insects could celebrate, the California dogface butterfly would be celebrating the 50th anniversary of its designation as the California State Insect. But they can't. So scientists and butterfly enthusiasts will. The history is intriguing.

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A visitor gets acquainted with an Australian stick insect, aka walking stick, at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A New Look for UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day

February 3, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

UC Davis undergraduate students are in for a scientific treat. When the 11th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day takes place Sunday, March 6, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, prepares to cut her birthday cake. (Photo by Tabatha Yang)

Spotlight on Lynn Kimsey, Director of Bohart Museum of Entomology

February 2, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

The Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis is currently closed to the public due to COVID pandemic precautions, but a jubilant crew helped celebrate the Feb. 1st birthday of its director, Lynn Kimsey, a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology who has administered the museum since 1990.

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Medical entomologist Thomas Scott studies Aedes aegypti, a mosquito known for transferring dengue and other diseases. (CDC Photo)

Congrats, Medical Entomologist and Humanitarian Thomas Scott

February 1, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Congratulations to UC Davis medical entomologist and humanitarian Thomas W. Scott, selected as one of the world's Highly Cited Researchers for the third consecutive year.

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Almond blossoms greet the sky and bees in this image taken at the Matthew Turner Shipyard Park in Benicia on Jan. 30, 2012. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Real Almond Joy

January 31, 2022

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

California's almond pollination season typically starts in mid-February, around Valentine's Day, but along the Benicia waterfront, the almond trees sometimes blossom as early as Jan. 1. The climate is warm and temperate.

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