Bug Squad

Strange thing, nobody ever says "as green as a green bottle fly." 'Cept maybe an entomologist.

What amazing journeys! For the last two months, migratory monarch butterflies have regularly stopped for flight fuel in our 600-square-foot pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. to nectar on Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), butterfly bush (Buddleia) and Lantana.

They didn't get the memo. Summer is over. Fall is underway. Winter is coming (Dec. 21). But the Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) are still laying eggs on the passionflower vine here in Vacaville, Calif. The eggs are hatching. The caterpillars are eating. The 'cats are pupating.

Ever seen a stag beetle? You know, that curious-looking male beetle with mandibles that resemble deer antlers? Now you can not only see a stag beetle, you can wear one. In fact, four of them.

You have just moved into an apartment that has been vacant for weeks but whose prior owners had several cats and dogs. A very few days after you move in you are bitten by a huge number of cat fleas that seem to have appeared out of nowhere.