Bug Squad

It's Thanksgiving Day, and what better day to stop and be thankful for not only family and friends, but for the beauty around us. That would include insects, including the stunning Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus).

When a house is a home... Take the case of a syrphid fly, aka hover fly or flower fly. It's a cold and windy day, and it's tucked in the folds of a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora, in Vacaville, Calif.

"George Compere." Non-entomologists may not recall his name, but entomologists--especially those who study biological control--definitely do. And whether you do or don't, you'll want to see the display featuring George Compere (1858-1928), at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis.

Monarchs: you can't save them all. It was a dismal year in Vacaville (and other parts of California) for monarch-rearing. Of the 10 caterpillars we collected from milkweed in our pollinator garden in early September and tried to rear, only eight made it.

Entomology, or the scientific study of insects, is not just rural--it's urban, too. Think bed bugs, cockroaches, carpet beetles and pantry pests, among others.