Bug Squad

The drone fly is an identity thief. It's often mistaken for a honey bee. Hey, isn't every floral visitor a bee? No, not by a long shot. One's a fly and one's a bee.

You've heard the expression, "On a wing and a prayer." It apparently originated during World War II. Remember the 1942 film, "The Flying Tigers," starring John Wayne as Capt.

If you're rearing monarchs or offering them a way station of nectar-producing flowers in your yard, there's one thing you don't want to see: A praying mantis nailing a monarch. That's when the "pollinator friendly garden" seems more like a "predator friendly garden." It's not by chance.

Sometimes the unexpected happens. Take the case of the female praying mantis delivered to the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, for an educational display.

Marek Borowiec's world revolves around myrmecology, the scientific study of ants.