Bug Squad

Note: We asked butterfly expert Arthur "Art" Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis, to comment on the effect of the California wildfires on butterflies and their habitat.

Will a praying mantis eat a caterpillar? Short answer: Yes. For several days, we've been watching a resident praying mantis, a female Mantis religiosa, hanging out in our patch of Passiflora (passionflower), the host plant of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly, Agraulis vanillae.

"It's important to consider species interactions in efforts to understand ecosystem responses to global change." So says global change ecologist Amanda Koltz, a senior scientist with the Department of Biology, Washington University, St.

Technology matters.

It's out. The long-awaited scientific article on the new trapdoor genus (and species) that UC Davis Professor Jason Bond discovered on a sandy beach at Moss Landing State Park, Monterey County, is now online. In fact, it's the cover story in the journal Insect Systematics and Diversity.