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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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Honey bee in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis Bee Haven Joins the 2026 Biodiversity Museum Day Line-Up

September 17, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 It's official: the UC Davis Bee Haven will be part of the 2026 UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day.The event, free and famly friendly and billed as a Super Science Day, takes place Feb. 21 throughout the UC Davis campus. It's an opportunity to explore, discover and connect, said coordinator and co-founder…
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Female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What a Mantis!

September 16, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 There’s a “mom” in the word Stagmomantis, as in Stag-mom-antis limbata. That genus name seems quite appropriate for a gravid mantis, don't you think?Take the mama-to-be that's a permanent tenant in a Vacaville patch of African blue basil. She knows this is the place to "bee."We've nicknamed her …
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Honey bee in flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bee-ing There: A Buzzworthy Event

September 12, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 It was a joy to see the amazing group of UC Davis employees receiving well-deserved awards at the UC Davis Staff Assembly's Citation of Excellence ceremony, held Sept. 10 at the residence of Chancellor Gary May.One of the recipients was "bee guy" Joseph Tauzer, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey…
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Lecture that Professor Jason Bond delivered.

Sharing Spider Research in Slovenia

September 11, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 It's not often that a UC Davis scientist heads to Slovenia to share expertise on trapdoor spiders.As a Fulbright Special Program award recipient, Professor Jason Bond is doing just that. He's meeting with scientists and presenting talks at the National Institute of Biology (NIB) in Slovenia. …
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