Bug Squad

We're so accustomed to seeing the non-native European paper wasp, Polistes dominula, that it's quite a surprise to encounter a native, the golden paper wasp, P. aurifer, and especially in the winter. It was--and is--sheltering at the UC Davis Bee Haven.

You may not recognize mistletoe unless it sports a red bow and is hanging over a doorway during the holiday season. You may not recognize The Great Purple Hairstreak, Atlides halesus. Its host plant is mistletoe. (Color-cognizant folks who are fond of purple won't recognize it, either.

Who will find and photograph the first bumble bee of the year in Yolo and Solano counties and win the fifth annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest? In 2024, Fairfield resident Nancy Hansen won the contest with a video of B.

How do entomologists apply research in a Cooperative Extension program?

Hearing a queen bee piping is music to her ears. So is the shimmering sound of the harp.