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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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A soldier beetle sunning itself on a yellow rose petal. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Just Soldiering On...

July 4, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 The British are coming! The British are coming!The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere?No, just soldier beetles, family Cantharidae, scrambling for aphids.Soldier beetles are so named because they sport a color pattern reminiscent of the British soldiers who battled The Thirteen Colonies (then known as "Great…
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Stink bugs on a zinnia in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Stink Bugs Suck

July 3, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 It seems like a good day to post images of stink bugs..We spotted a pair of stink bugs on our zinnias "keeping busy" today.They suck. Truly.Stink bugs are shield-shaped sucking insects, family Pentatomidae, and California is home to more than 50 stink bug species. How did they get their name? When…
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Attack on Science blog

Illuminating the Attack on Science

July 2, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If you missed the July 1st UC Davis-based webinar, "Beyond the Headlines: The Invisible Power of Academic Research in America," featuring Nobel Laureate Randy Schekman of UC Berkeley and other Nobel Laureates and two dozen other scholars, not to worry.The webinar is on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Tq5…
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A stick insect at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis.

A UC Davis Scientist's Thoughts About the Future of Science

July 1, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 You may know UC Davis Professor Jason Bond  of the Department of Entomology and Nematology,He's the Evett and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of Insect Systematics; the director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology; associate dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,…
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UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal

The Nobel Laureates and 'The Invisible Power of Academic Research'

June 30, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Federal funding of scientific research in our academic institutions is in jeopardy, but interest is swelling for the UC Davis-based webinar,  “Beyond the Headlines: The Invisible Power of Academic Research,” set from 1 to 3 p.m., Tuesday, July 1 (Pacific Time).Today UC Davis Distinguished…
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