Bug Squad

There's a flurry of pink at the Gold Ridge. That would be the Luther Burbank Gold Ridge Experiment Farm in Sebastopol. "Luther Burbank bought his 15-acre farm on Gold Ridge in 1885 in Sebastopol," says the Western Sonoma Historical Society on its website.

Are western monarch butterflies heading for extinction? A Sept.

We have bright faces in our Vacaville, Calif., pollinator garden. The bright faces are usually that of assorted bees and butterflies nectaring on members of the sunflower family: Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) and blanketflowers (Gaillardia).

Just as all lady bugs aren't ladies, all widow skimmer dragonflies aren't female.

If you want to learn about insects, join entomologists Joel Hernandez and Melissa Cruz for their talk and tour of the UC Arboretum and Public Garden from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10.