Bug Squad

It promises to be a "bee-utiful event." And memorable. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) is gearing up for a ribbon-cutting ceremony and facility tour on Tuesday, Jan.

Where's the first bumble bee of the year in Solano and Yolo counties? It's not a $64,000 question, because there's no reward--just bragging rights.

On the last few days of Year 2019, where do you find a foraging honey bee? Well, if the temperature soars to 50 or 55, you might see honey bees slip out of their hives and head for a winter flowering plant commonly known as the "red hot poker" or "Christmas cheer" (genus Kniphofia).

'Tis the season of giving, and the ninth annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, set for Saturday, Feb. 15, needs donors. Make that "urgently needs donor pledges." The pledge deadline of Jan. 6 looms. The free, science-based public event drew more than 4,000 visitors in 2019.

If you want to learn about digger bees and the exciting research that UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Leslie Saul-Gershenz is pursuing, check out the wall display at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.