Bug Squad

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.

Sarah the Bee Girl stands in front of a cluster of first graders sitting by a six-foot worker bee sculpture in the UC Davis Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven.