Bug Squad

Robert Michael Pyle, founder of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, was right at home at the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology back in July of 2019, when he and other members of the international Lepidopterists' Society toured the insect museum as part of their 68th annual meeting.

Born in Lubbock, Texas, raised in the south San Francisco area, and schooled in insects. That was just the beginning of what would unfold into an outstanding entomological career.

When you're a honey bee and you're packing pollen and approaching your landing--an artichoke thistle--it's a good idea to clean your proboscis (tongue) first. Caught in flight: a honey bee doing a little grooming.

The Beatles sang "I Want to Hold Your Hand." The elm leaf beetles and their larvae don't want to hold your hand--unless perhaps you're holding a elm leaf that they can eat. A recent walk down the 200 block of Buck Avenue, Vacaville, California, revealed the damage this pest does.

"Sweat bees have earned their common name from the tendency, especially of the smaller species,to alight on one's skin and lap up perspiration for both its moisture and salt content.