Bug Squad

Have you ever seen a freeloader fly trying to sneak a meal? Since it's Friday Fly Day--and the best things in life are free, aren't they?--it's time to post an image of a freeloader fly.

It was a major project, a long time coming, and what an excellent resource for those studying the spotted-wing drosophila, a worldwide threat to the berry production industry.

Congratulations to Melody Keena, UC Davis alumna and entomologist extraordinaire. Keena, a research entomologist with the U.S. Forest Service's Northern Research Station in Hamden, Conn.

What incredible research! It involves fossilized male ants, estimated to be about 20 million years and encased in Ethiopian amber.

On Labor Day, a federal holiday, we celebrate the our country's labor movement, our gratitude, and our achievements. But there is no Labor Day holiday for the worker bee, one of three castes (queen, worker and drone) in a honey bee colony. No Labor Day holiday for the queen, either.