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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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Monarch in flight

Welcome, Ms. Monarch!

July 14, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
  Western monarch butterfly populations are at critically low levels. The latest annual winter counts recorded some 12,260 monarchs along the California coast.This is the third-lowest tally in program history, representing a catastrophic decline from the millions of butterflies that historically…
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Art Shapiro walking up Gates Canyon, Vacaville.

Open Up The Gates!

July 13, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 "Open up The Gates!"So wrote UC Davis Distinguished Professor (emeritus) Art Shapiro, in an email today to his posse of scientists and friends.He was referring to Gates Canyon, Vacaville. Gates Canyon has been part of his butterfly-monitoring research that he launched in central California in 1972…
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Side view of Ceanothus silk moth larva munching on manzanita. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Make Mine Manzanita

July 10, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 A Ceanothus silk moth caterpillar is munching away on manzanita in an enclosed habitat in the corner of our kitchen. Seems like a good place to eat as any! Our tuxedo cat, Miss Sarah Sylvia Cynthia Stout, does not know it's there. If she did, being a curious sort, she'd want to investigate…
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A reddish-brown mint moth, a day-flying moth common in gardens.

Gearing Up for Moth Night

July 9, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Excitement is building for the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual Moth Night, set Saturday, July 18.It's from 7 to 11 p.m. and free and family friendly. It's based at the Bohart Museum headquarters, Room 1124, Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. This is part of the celebration…
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The Blood Brothers, Anthony Cornel in foreground, and Greg Lanzaro.

'Anopheles': The Documentary

July 8, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Have you seen the "Anopheles" documentary yet?It's a full-length documentary that tells the story of the partnerships, science and community engagements that drive efforts to eliminate malaria on an island off the coast of Central Africa. Billed as a University of California Malaria Initiative (UCMI)…
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