Bug Squad

What do honey bee colonies do when a raging wildfire heads straight toward their hives (bee boxes)? No, the bees do not abscond with their queen and relocate, says Norman Gary, emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis.

If you think there's a butterfly invasion in the three-county area of Yolo, Solano and Sacramento, wait until you hear what Art Shapiro, distinguished professor evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis, says about that.

Honey bees just can't get enough of our tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. We plant three species of milkweed (the host plant for the monarchs), but both the monarchs and the honey bees gravitate toward A. curassavica, a non-native.

It's heartbreaking. Beyond heartbreaking. Caroline Yelle, 28, owner of Pope Canyon Queens (PCQ) at 8307 Quail Canyon Road, Vacaville, lost her business when the lightning-sparked Hennessey Fire, part of the LNU Lightning Complex Fire, swept through rural Vacaville on Aug. 19 from Napa County.

Honey is the soul of a field of flowers. It's also been called "the nectar of the gods." "The bee hive is the ultimate home sweet home," says Amina Harris, director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute.