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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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Assorted micro-moths that Jeff Smith has curated. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

This Super-Tiny Fairy Longhorn Moth Has Quite a History

August 27, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If you're accustomed to seeing large moths with a 10-inch wingspan, you won't believe this micro moth.Entomologist Jeff Smith, volunteer curator of the prized Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, has just curated a metallic Papua New Guinea (PNG) moth with a 1.4…
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Crab spider nails a hoverfly, a yellowjacket mimic. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Disguise Didn't Work

August 26, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If you look like a yellowjacket but you’re really a fly, that doesn’t mean a predator can’t grab you and eat you.Take the case of a crab spider lying in wait on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville garden. Our very alert spider knows exactly where to practice its ambushing…
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Microscopes from the California Master Beekeeper Program. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Addison to the Bee: 'Be Safe'

August 25, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 When the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) interacts with children at various events, they hope to make a difference.At the Vacaville Museum Guild's annual Children's Party. held recently in the Vacaville Museum on Buck Avenue, Vacaville, they did just that.We just received a…
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UC Davis student Riley Hoffman at the 2025 Biodiversity Museum Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

We Have a Date! UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day

August 22, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If you've been wondering when the 15th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day will take place, wonder no more!The committee has voted. The popular event, a "Super Science Day" that's free and family friendly,  is set for Saturday, Feb. 21, so mark your calendars.It's about a day of discovery…
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Monarch in flight, heading toward narrow-leafed milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Second Monarch Arrives

August 21, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Too good to be true!What did I deserve to see--and photograph--a second monarch in our Vacaville pollinator garden this year? The first arrived July 15. The second, Aug. 21. Both were females laying eggs.But there she was. At 10 a.m. today, this majestic female fluttered in, heading straight for the…
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