Bug Squad

If happiness is seeing a butterfly, then a visit to McCormack Hall during the annual Solano County Fair, Vallejo, Aug. 2-6, will make you absolutely ecstatic.

A sign at the California State Fair's Insect Pavilion, aka "Bug Barn," screams "Bugs, Stay Back!" A middle-aged woman takes the sign literally. "What would you do if you saw THAT bug in our backyard?" she asks her daughter, about six years old. "Yecch!" responds the daughter.

Imagine watching your honey bees gathering nectar from star thistle--which some beekeepers claim makes the best honey. (Yes, Centaurea solstitialis is an invasive weed. The love-hate relationship runs deep; farmers and environmentalists hate it; beekeepers love it.

The first moth to arrive was the alfalfa looper moth, Trichopusia ni. But the most striking: the grape leaffolder, Desmia funeralis. More than 15 species landed on the blacklighting display at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's Moth Night open house on Saturday, July 22.

UC Davis is the place to "bee" on Sept. 5-8 for the Western Apicultural Society's 40th annual conference, but you'll want to register by Monday, July 31 to get the pre-registration discount.