Bug Squad

"Spring Has Sprung!" That's the theme of the 146th annual Dixon May Fair, the 36th District Agricultural Association. It's been a long, cold winter and we're ready for that! So are the exhibitors and fairgoers. When the fair opens Thursday, May 11 and continues through Sunday, May 14 at 655 S.

"The honey bee gut is home to varied and diverse bacterial species," says Professor Irene Garcia Newton of Indiana University, Bloomington, who studies host-associated microbes.

Did you know that California is home to more than 1600 species of undomesticated beesmost of them nativethat populate and pollinate our gardens, fields, and urban green spaces?--Source: California Bees and Blooms, a Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists.

If you're interested in bees--as a scientist, beekeeper or just as an enthusiast--you'll want to access the newly launched YouTube Channel of internationally acclaimed honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page Jr., a UC Davis alumnus and an emeritus administrator at UC Davis and Arizona State University.

What a line-up! Amina Harris, director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, has organized a fantastic group of speakers for the UC Davis Speakers' Stage at the California Honey Festival, set Saturday, May 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in downtown Woodland. The event is free and family friendly.