Bug Squad

Photographer Allan Jones of Davis exudes patience, skill and talent from the moment he enters the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden operated by the University of California, Davis, Department of Entomology and Nematology on Bee Biology Road.

Want to learn more about bees, and what to plant to attract them to your garden? The Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee garden operated by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will host an open house, the last one of 2018, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22.

Talk about "crafty"--as in cunning or sneaky--insects.

Some folks call them "bumble bees," but they're not. In size, the female Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa varipuncta) resembles a bumble bee, but certainly not in color. The female Valley carpenter is solid black with metallic wings.

Judge: "Will the defendant please rise?" The defendant, a praying mantis--a male Stragmomantis limbata--rises solemnly, stretching his spiked forelegs.