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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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Bug Bytes newsletter, 2025 in Review

UC Davis Department Newsletter in Review

December 19, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology today published its 2025 "News in Review," with a message from the administration--Joanna Chiu, professor and department chair, and Rachel Vannette, professor and vice chair--and featuring highlights of the year."We recognize our roots," the…
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Waving goodbye in Burundi. (Photo by Jenny Carlson Donnelly)

Lost Science, A Lost Job, A Loss to Global Public Health

December 18, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 The "Lost Science" column of the New York Times recently focused on Jenny Carlson Donnelly, a UC Davis doctoral alumna who lost her job earlier this year as a Malaria Outbreak Emergency Advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) due to Trump administration cuts.USAID,…
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A frame of honeycomb. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Honey of a Gift

December 17, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Can't think of a gift to buy for the beekeepers, food enthusiasts, naturalists, environmental educators, and honey and mead lovers in your life? It gets a little sticky, doesn't it? Sometimes really sticky.To the rescue...a couple of Santa's helpers...The California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP…
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Jeff Smith, curator of Lepidoptera collection, Bohart Museum of Entomology

A Tiny and Beautiful Moth from Texas

December 16, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Not everything is big in Texas.If you're used to seeing the huge Texas longhorns, with horns spanning eight feet in length from tip to tip, then this is quite the comparison.Entomologist Jeff Smith, the volunteer curator of the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, just…
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Blue morpho butterflies at Bohart Museum of Entomology.

And the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day Design Contest Winners Are...

December 15, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 These designs showcasing the 15th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day will "draw you in."The BioDiv Committee recently sponsored a design contest and selected the two winners. They are....drum roll...Haylie Wilcox, a first-year master's degree student in the lab of Professor Neal Williams, a…
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