Bug Squad

It's World Bee Day, as declared by the United Nations. "The fourth observance of World Bee Day will be celebrated--in the midst of a still ongoing pandemic--with a virtual event organized by the FAO on 20 May 2021 under the theme Bee engaged Build Back Better for Bees.

If you want to draw pollinators to your yard, think of the plants for sale at the teaching nursery maintained by the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. A public clearance sale will take place Thursday, May 20 through Monday, May 24, with members saving 30 percent and the public, 20 percent.

The beetles are coming! No, this is not a historical reference to that famed rock band from Liverpool. These are real beetles. The insects.

Her passion is ants. And she'll be conveying that passion and her passion for science when she presents a UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology online seminar on Wednesday, May 19.

Christmas in May? When it's in full bloom, the aptly named "tower of jewels," Echium wildpretii, which can tower as high as 10 feet, looks very much like a Christmas tree. Think of the brilliant red blossoms as red bells. Native to the island of Tenerife, it belongs to the family Boraginaceae.