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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. 

UC Davis student Emma Vazquez

Food Waste Project: Emma Vazquez on the Mike!

December 3, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Over the Thanksgiving holiday week, American consumers tossed out about 200 million pounds of turkey, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. In fact, American consumers waste 60 million tons of food a year, statistics show.
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Visitors to an upcoming Bohart Museum of Entomology open house will learn the differences between venomous and poisonous. This jumping spider is venomous. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart Museum of Entomology Gearing Up for 2025

December 2, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Drum roll... The Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, is gearing up for the new year. Open houses or special events planned from January through May include: Saturday, Jan. 11: General Open House 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb.
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A newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary suns itself on a zinnia in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Last of Its Generation

November 28, 2024
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Look, over there! It's Thanksgiving Week and there's a newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary on a tattered pink zinnia "that looks as it has seen better days," as my mother used to say. The orange of autumn exploding, the silver of yultide beckoning. Silver and bold...
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