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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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Orb weaver constructing its web. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Spider and the Bee

August 18, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 The spider and the bee...Or technically, an orb weaver and a honey bee. "Orb" is an old English word meaning "circular."  Thus, the word, in reference to an orb weaver, refers to the classic, round, wheel-shaped spiral webs that these spiders build.The orb weaver is skilled in web design and…
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Two children learning about insects at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

Bohart Museum Announces Fall Open Houses

August 17, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 What's inside the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, and what will the scientists show and tell you? Drum roll...The Bohart Museum has announced two fall open houses: the first on Sunday, Sept. 20 and the second on Saturday, Nov. 7. Both are free and family…
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Anise swallowtail on Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola.

All Hail the Anise Swallowtail

August 14, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 All hail the Anise swallowtail, Papilio zelicaon.This brilliantly colored yellow and black butterfly, with blue spots on its rear wings, is often mistaken--at first glance--for the Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus. The tiger has narrow vertical black "tiger stripes" running down its forewings…
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UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock

The World Was a Better Place With Bruce In It

August 13, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Today, Thursday, Aug. 13, would have been a monumental birthday celebration for UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock, an internationally known scholar, researcher, inventor, collaborator, teacher, scientific leader and  mentor. Professor Hammock, who died Jan. 5 in Davis, would have…
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Osmia pollinating a blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

'O' Is for Osmia

August 12, 2026
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 What an exciting research project!Doctoral candidate Alexia "Lexie" Martin of the laboratory of Rachel Vannette, professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, has received a Garden Club of America (GSA) Board of Associates Centennial Pollinator Fellowship for her…
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