Bug Squad

Ever seen a back-lit monarch butterfly? It's like a stained-glass window in a centuries-old steepled church where you cannot see the ugliness of the world, but its beauty. Monarchs are like that. Those iconic butterflies excite, inspire and transform you, just like stained glass windows.

The monarch butterfly egg is oh-so-very-tiny but what an incredible work of nature! The intricate egg is about the size of a pinhead, 0.9mm wide and 1.2mm high. It's creamy yellow with narrow longitudinal ridges.

Congratulations to UC Davis alumnus and ant morphologist Brendon Boudinot recipient of the coveted Robert E. Snodgrass Memorial Research Award from the Entomological Society of America (ESA).

It's good to see Washington State University Extension's newly published, updated fact sheet on the Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia. You can view or download it here for free.

Monarchs, bless their little hearts, souls and wings, deposited 16 eggs on our milkweed plants in July.