Bug Squad

Hear that buzz? That's the sound of success. It finally happened. The beleaguered rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis, is now listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an endangered species, the first bee in the continental United States to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Christian Nansen is an entomologist on the move.

It is not a good time to be a butterfly. Especially if you're a monarch butterfly that eclosed on Jan. 5 in cold and rainy Vacaville, Calif. while all--or most--of your counterparts are overwintering along coastal California or in central Mexico.

We remember hearing Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, present a seminar on From Butterflies to Blood Pressure and Beyond." He marveled at how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly and said that "science is full of surprises.

From honey bees to flower thrips to Asian longhorned beetles... From a beneficial insect to pests... It's good to see the wide diversity of topics in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's winter seminar schedule.