Bug Squad

Today is Labor Day 2019, a federal holiday celebrated the first Monday of September. However, "the girls" are working, as they do every day of the year, weather permitting. "The girls" are the worker honey bees. Unless you keep bees or have access to a hive, you mostly see them foraging.

The date is set. The celebration of life for global bee expert Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis and a beloved scientist, is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. in the Putah Creek Lodge.

If you want to bee-come a beekeeper, bee scientists at the University of California at Davis will oblige.

If you've been finding more milkweed bugs than monarchs on your milkweed, join the crowd. Monarchs are scarce--at least around Solano and Yolo counties--but milkweed bugs are quite plentiful.

If you're a beekeeper or plan to be a beekeeper, you're aware of Public Enemy No. 1. That would be the varroa mite, Varroa destructor, an eight-legged external parasite that attacks and feeds on honey bees. Those mites can spread viruses and decimate a healthy colony.