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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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Gobabeb Desert Research and Training Center

UC Davis Doctoral Student Iris Quayle to Study Darkling Beetles in Africa

June 27, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 UC Davis doctoral student Iris Quayle of the Department of Entomology and Nematology is heading to the Namib Desert of southwestern Africa in October to do research on darkling beetles.And she could not be more excited.Quayle, advised by Professor Jason Bond—he is the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed…
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Banded alder borer on leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

What's That Bug?

June 26, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 What's that bug?If you're painting your house, a mural, or your vehicle, you have a better chance of seeing it.Vacaville artist Joi McNeill, who is painting a mural on a building in the 300 block of Merchant Street, Vacaville, saw one today. She's working on a mural that includes the Old Town Hall, a…
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A Gulf Fritllary butterfly on a butterfly bush. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Insects of Summer

June 25, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Some folks consider mosquitoes, flies and cockroaches and other pests as "the insects of summer."No, the "insects of summer" include a flame skimmer dragonfly perched on a bamboo stick, a honey bee foraging on a blanket flower, a lady beetle (aka ladybug) devouring aphids, and a Gulf Fritillary…
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Albert Einstein Memorial, Washington D.C.

In Support of Academic Research: Why Science Matters

June 24, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 When UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology headed for Washington D.C. in April to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), he stopped by the Albert Einstein memorial, located at the corner of the NAS grounds.Leal read Einstein's…
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Honey bee nectaring on rose in UC Davis Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

UC Davis Bee Haven: A Hidden Gem

June 23, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Have you visited the UC Davis Bee Haven lately?It's thriving with more plants, more pollinators, and more projects since its renovation launched last summer.The half-acre bee friendly demonstration garden, installed in the fall of 2009 on Bee Biology Road, is located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr…
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