Bug Squad

A recent two-hour Bumble Bee Walk," sponsored by the California Bumble Bee Atlas in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, proved fruitful.

Seen any European wool carder bees lately? European wool carder bees (so named because the female collects or cards plant hairs for their nests) are on the move. The bees, about the size of honey bees, are mostly black and yellow.

The bee and the butterfly. Or, Apis mellifera and Colias eurytheme. One's a beneficial insect. That would "bee" the honey bee. The other is a yellow and white butterfly, striking in appearance, but in its larval stage, it's a major pest of alfalfa.

They marveled at the tadpole shrimp. They crafted tadpole shrimp-themed hats and puppets using paper plates and googly eyes. And they asked questions. Lots of questions.

There's a way for a bear to outsmart a fox. A teddy bear bee, that is. We just witnessed a male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa sonorina, aka "the teddy bear bee," buzz up to a patch of foxgloves, Digitalis purpurea. Then he engaged in the foraging behavior known as nectar-robbing.