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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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European praying mantis at the Vacavillel Museum Courtyard.

What a Day When Betty White Visited the Vacaville Museum

October 17, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 What a day when Betty White visited the Vacaville Museum!Not the beloved Betty White, the American actress, comedian, producer, activist, and animal welfare advocate who passed Dec. 31, 2021 at age 99. It was her namesake.It all began when the Vacaville Museum hosted a public function on Oct. 11…
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Monarch butterfly on Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Status of the Monarchs in California

October 16, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Since Saturday, Sept. 27, we've recorded almost daily sightings of migrating monarchs passing through our pollinator garden in Vacaville on their way to their overwintering sites along coastal California.The monarchs are stopping by for some flight fluel--nectar from our stand of Mexican sunflowers,…
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UC Berkeley professor Rosemary Gillespie

Spider Researcher Rosemary Gillespie to Present UC Davis Seminar

October 15, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 UC Berkeley professor Rosemary Gillespie, an evolutionary biologist known for her spider research, will present a seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on Wednesday, Oct. 22.Gillespie, professor of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, Division of Insect Biology…
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Nature's Gallery at UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden

Let's Do This in Honor of Jane Goodall, Dogs, and Art

October 14, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Jane Goodall would have loved this: a dog depicted among the flowers and insects in the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program’s ceramic-mosaic mural, “Nature’s Gallery,” in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.Goodall (April 3, 1934-Oct. 1, 2025), the trailblazing primatologist and conservationist…
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Hannah Burrack at the Leigh seminar

Honoring Hannah Burrack

October 13, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 It was a joy to see UC Davis alumna Hannah Joy Burrack, professor and chair of the Michigan State University Department of Entomology, return to the UC Davis campus to receive the 2025 Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Award and present the Leigh seminar.It was like ol' home week, indeed.A…
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