Bug Squad

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.

Doctoral candidate Christofer Brothers explains how a dragonfly catches prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

An Introduction to Dragonflies and Spiders

November 5, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Predators employ a diversity of behavioral and morphological adaptations to successfully capture their insect prey, UC Davis doctoral candidates Christofer Brothers and Emma Em Jochim told the crowd at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house.

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Tabatha Yang (left) the Bohart Museum of Entomology's education and outreach coordinator, with UC Davis student and Bohart intern, Jasmine Chow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Intricate Craft of Making a Spider Web

November 4, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you've ever closely examined a spider web, you know how incredible they are. But if you attended the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house last Saturday, you could make a spider web--using chopsticks and colorful yarn.

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Eliza Litsey holds a master's degree in entomology from UC Davis.

Eliza Litsey to Discuss a Novel Queen Honey Bee Treatment

November 1, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're curious about honey bees, queens and juvenile hormones, you'll want to attend or hear the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT) seminar to be presented by apiculturist Eliza Litsey, a former graduate student in the honey bee lab of Elina Lastro Nio.

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Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, strikes a pose as "Doc" Bohart at the Bohart Museum Society's Halloween party. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Butterflies, Spiders and 'Doc' Bohart

October 31, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Butterflies fluttered in, spiders jumped or crawled in, and "Doc" Bohart, holding "Beau," strolled in. That was the scene at the Bohart Museum Society's annual Halloween party, held at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis.

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UC Davis student Jakob Lopez, a Bohart Museum employee, wearing the glow-in-the-dark trapdoor spider T-shirt. The cost is $22 plus tax for adult sizes and $18 plus tax for youth. Proceeds support the museum.

Got Legs? Eight of Them?

October 30, 2024

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Got legs? Got eight legs? No, not eight unless you're a spider (arachnid). If you're human, you can seek out the Bohart Museum of Entomology's "Got Legs?" T-shirt of a trapdoor spider.

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