Bug Squad

We call it the Fourth of July or Independence Day. Our 13 American colonies rose up against the monarch of Great Britain, King George III, and declared themselves free and independent.

"Leave me alone, please--I'm eating." The monarch caterpillar feasting on the tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in Vacaville, Calif., kept doing what monarch 'cats do best--eat. She insisted on devouring the leaves as if there were no tomorrow--and today would end soon.

There's more to Sonoma County's Bodega Head than the stunning views, crashing waves, nesting seabirds, and bursts of flora and fauna. The sand cliffs are also the home of a digger bee, a bumble bee mimic known as Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana.

What's for dinner? If you're a praying mantis nymph, Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a sunflower, sometimes it can be a long wait. Breakfast fades into lunch, lunch fades into dinner... First you scout out your territory and spread out (hey, look at me)!.

She probably eats a lot of mosquitoes.