Bug Squad

So here I am, a male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, just enjoying the nectar on this tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in Vacaville, Calif. Some folks call me "The teddy bear bee." Yes, I like that nickname.

The predator and the prey... Or the predator-to-bee. Currently, honey bees are foraging on our tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, in our family's pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. It's a veritable tower of bees.

I just wanted to thank you! You are my heroes. So began an unsolicited email to UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal, who organized and moderated a UC Davis-based COVID-19 virtual symposium spotlighting the expertise of physicians, scientists and a COVID-19 survivor.

Watch out, lygus bugs! Agricultural entomologist Emily Bick is targeting you. Lygus hesperus, a serious pest of strawberries--as well as cotton, and seed crops such as alfalfa--causes an estimated $40 million in annual losses to California's strawberry industry.

COVID-19 is not to be taken lightly, says James R. Carey, UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology, who will share his scientific modeling expertise at the UC Davis-based COVID-19 webinar on Thursday afternoon, April 23. The webinar, to be broadcast on Zoom and YouTube Live from 1:30 to 4 p.m.