Bug Squad

April showers bring June flowers, but spring also brings seminars about insects.

So here you are, a honey bee seeking nectar from an unopened citrus blossom. And then your tongue (proboscis) becomes all sticky with pollen, nectar and other particles. What to do: you, the worker bee, take a brief break and clean your tongue. Problem solved.

It's just not a picnic without insects. And when the 107th annual UC Davis Picnic Day goes virtual on Saturday, April 17, the insects will go virtual, too.

The bee swarm touched down April 1, settling near the wind chimes on her patio roof. "I saw the swarm when I looked out the window," said Vacaville resident Lynn Starner. She watched dozens of bees buzzing toward the cluster.

Hello, spring! It's not "officially" spring until we see--and photograph--the spectacular Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus. One landed March 30 on an aromatic white lilac bush in Alamo Creek Park, Vacaville. It lingered long enough for a few photos and then fluttered away.