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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 lady beetle, aka ladybug, eating aphids. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

How Much Do Lady Beetles Love Aphids?

June 4, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 How much do lady beetles love aphids?It's love at first bite. And it amounts to some 50 bites a day.The lady beetle, commonly known as a ladybug, is a legend when it comes to its voracious appetite. It eats some 50 aphids a day--a 50-course meal--and in its lifetime, it can polish off a whopping 5000…
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UC Davis student Emma Vazquez rapping about food waste in a video she created.

Area Ag Communicators Win Gold

June 3, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Several area agricultural communicators who won gold, or first-place awards, from the international Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), will be honored at the ACE conference set June 16-18 in Milwaukee, Wis.ACE is an association of communications professionals and educators who …
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A stick insect at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Bohart and The Sticks

June 2, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 When you think of sticks, you may think of the object you toss to your dog, what you step on while taking your morning walk, or "the stick people" masquerading as your family on the rear window of your car.But if you're at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, "sticks" can mean only one thing: the walking…
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The making of a maggot art masterpiece. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A Maggot Art Masterpiece

May 30, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 "Better autograph that right now. That could be a valuable piece of art some day!"So said an onlooker when youngsters were creating maggot art at the recent Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. The theme: "Insects: Life Stages."Doctoral candidate Emma "Em" Jochim of the lab of Professor Jason Bond,…
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Flame skimmer dragonfly (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Wonder of Dragonflies

May 29, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 UC Davis doctoral candidate Christofer Brothers, who researches  dragonflies for his dissertation, delights in sharing his knowlege of them.And he did just that--to several hundred guests--at the recent Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on insect life stages.Brothers, a member of the Stacey…
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