Bug Squad

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.

They're here and more are coming! Be on the lookout for migratory Monarch butterflies from the Pacific Northwest heading south to their overwintering sites along the California coast.

Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, has been looking for monarchs all year long on the UC Davis campus--as have scores of others. On Friday, Aug. 26, he met with success. He spotted four within half an hour.

It's Sept. 4, 2019. We notice a monarch butterfly laying eggs on milkweed in an enclosed Vacaville retail nursery. We purchase the plant and add it to our pollinator garden. Did the eggs ever hatch? Did we ever get caterpillars, chrysalids and adults? No. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

If you're trying to find a praying mantis in the wild, go where the food source is. Sounds pretty easy, right? But oh, they're camouflaged. They lie in wait, as ambush predators, and strike. Now you see the predator, now you don't.