Bug Squad

He was a giant in the field of chemical ecology but he was much more than that.

Seen any gray hairstreaks, lately? No, not on someone's head. This is the butterfly, Strymon melinus, from the Lycaenidae family, known as the gossamer-winged butterflies. It's an ashy gray butterfly with a white border.

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.