Bug Squad

Can the larvae of lady beetles (aka ladybugs) eat aphids? Yes, they can. And yes, they do. We spotted some lady beetle larvae on our yellow roses today and guess what they were doing? Right, eating aphids. Eating lots of aphids.

Is it an insect? How can you tell? When the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology participates in the 103rd annual UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 22, visitors to Briggs Hall and the Bohart Museum of Entomology will learn all about insects.

Ol' Blue Eyes. What a treat to see. No, not an old movie starring Ol' Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra (1915-1998), but the blue-eyed darner, the Rhionaeschna multicolor blue-eyed darner, Aeshna multicolor.

How often do you see a honey bee "standing upright" to reach nectar? "Well, I guess I could just buzz up there and grab some nectar! But why not stay right here where I am and just s-t-r-e-t-c-h like a giraffe to get it?

Have you checked to see what's foraging on your early spring blooms? Our cherry laurels (Prunus laurocerasus) are blooming and the Andrena (mining) bees are zooming.