Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay

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UC ANR is renovating its website. 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/blogcore/archive.cfm

Maojun Jin served as a visiting scholar in the Bruce Hammock lab from September 2019 to September 2020. Here he is with his family at UC Davis.

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Pesticide Research: Paper of the Month

June 13, 2023

Trace detection of such organophosphates as triazophos, parathion, and chlorpyrifos is extremely important for various reasons, including food safety, environmental monitoring, and national health, a team of scientists, including UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock pointed out last week,...

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Scene from a recent Bohart Museum of Entomology Moth Night. The portrait is of UC Davis entomologist Richard Bohart, for whom the Bohart Museum is named. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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A Night at the Bohart Museum: Moth Night on Saturday, July 22

June 12, 2023

Mark your calendar! The next open house at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, themed "Night at the Museum" (Moth Night), is from 7 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, July 22. It's free and family friendly. Parking is also free.

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Maggot Art at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. Tools of the trade: maggots, water-based and non-toxic paint, paint containers, forceps, and white paper. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Bohart Museum of Entomology Open House: Magnificent Maggot Art!

June 9, 2023

Ever created Maggot Art? You pick up a maggot with a forceps, dip it into a non-toxic, water-based paint, drop it (gently) on a white paper, and let it crawl around, or guide it. Voila! Maggot Art! It's a conversation piece. It's suitable for framing.

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UC Davis forensic entomologist Bob Kimsey tracing the history of forensic entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Bohart Museum Features UC Davis Forensic Entomologist Bob Kimsey

June 8, 2023

Song Ci (1186-1249) of China, considered the world's first forensic entomologist, knew how to solve a crime when a villager in a rice field was found dead, slashed with a sickle. He told the villagers to line up in town square with their sickles. When they did, he immediately fingered the killer.

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Molecular geneticist-physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, working in her lab. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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Congratulations, Joanna Chiu, UC Davis Outstanding Professor and Mentor

June 7, 2023

Let's congratulate molecular geneticist-physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. Professor Chiu is the newly announced faculty recipient of the 2023 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Mentoring Undergraduate Research.

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