Bug Squad

It's a long-awaited book, 25 years in the making. And it's sure to "bee" among the very best. Eminent honey bee geneticist and biologist Robert E. Page Jr.

It's not often you see a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum, nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. At first glance, you may think the insect is a carpenter bee or bumble bee. Then you see it hovering. Then you see its head. Then you see its stubby antennae.

Remember those Asian giant hornets, which the news media dubbed "the murder hornets?" No, they're not back, but they are in the news. Or specifically, in a podcast.

Have are you faring during the COVID-19 crisis? If you have a pollinator garden--or access to you--and a camera, you can step out of The Great Indoors and enjoy The Great Outdoors. A newly eclosed Western Tiger Swallowtail, Papilio rutulus, however, can take your breath away.

One...two...three... Are you counting down until the much-awaited Virtual Moth Open House, hosted by the UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology? The free and family friendly-event is set from 1 to 2 p.m., on Saturday, July 25, coming to you live on the Bohart Museum's Facebook page.