Bug Squad

The Sting. (c) Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Bug Squad blog, by Kathy Keatley Garvey of the University of California, Davis, is a daily (Monday-Friday) blog launched Aug. 6, 2008. It is about the wonderful world of insects and the entomologists who study them. Blog posts are archived at https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/index.cfm. The story behind "The Sting" is here: https://my.ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=7735.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Joseph Tauzer in an almond orchard in Hamilton City. (Photo by Kian Nikzad)
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Honoring Joseph Tauzer: The Multitasker

September 1, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Congratulations to UC Davis staff research associate Joseph Tauzer, who manages the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility and who serves three labs within the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.Tauzer is a winner in the UC Davis Staff Assembly's coveted 2025 Citations of…
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Queen bee and workers. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Honey Bees Labor Every Day

September 1, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 As we celebrate Labor Day, let's also celebrate the honey bees: the queens, worker bees (females) and drones (males). They take no vacations, no holidays, and no breaks, and receive no overtime pay or retirement pensions.  The queen takes no maternity leave. In peak season, she will lay 1000…
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Syrphid fly on blanketflower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Bohart Museum Announces Open Houses

August 29, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Bees and their mimics and eight-legged encounters (spiders) will be among the themes at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open houses for the 2025-26 academic year.Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum, part of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology,…
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"Art of Death" exhibit at Vacaville Museum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Bohart Bugs Beckon at Vacaville Museum's Exhibit

August 28, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 Quick question: Have you visited the Vacaville Museum's incredible gallery exhibit, "The Art of Death?" If so, did you peruse the insect displays from the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis?Frankly, there's so much to see and learn about "The Art of Death"--which runs through Nov. 15--that you…
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Assorted micro-moths that Jeff Smith has curated. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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This Super-Tiny Fairy Longhorn Moth Has Quite a History

August 27, 2025
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
 If you're accustomed to seeing large moths with a 10-inch wingspan, you won't believe this micro moth.Entomologist Jeff Smith, volunteer curator of the prized Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, has just curated a metallic Papua New Guinea (PNG) moth with a 1.4…
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