Bug Squad

It was right where it belonged--by the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences. As I returned from a meeting in the building today, something green caught my eye. A praying mantis was hanging out on the society garlic. Was it eating any prey? No, not this time.

You will not bee-lieve what a group of scientists affiliated with the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, found last summer in Belize. They brought back some 100,000 specimens, ranging from stunning orchid bees to spectacular morpho butterflies, to add to the museum collection.

What are the odds? What are the odds? A monarchthe most special monarch ever--fluttered over our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. on Monday afternoon, Sept. 5 and touched down on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia).

You might see monarchs, Gulf Fritillaries, Western tiger swallowtails, pipevine swallowtails, and skippers. You'll learn about butterflies and their needs. It's a UC Davis Arboretum talk and tour and it's free and open to the public.

Western yellowjackets, nicknamed "meat bees" (as opposed to the "vegetarian honey bees") are often misidentified. A recent visitor at a camp in the Sierra Nevada mountain range witnessed a large number of wasps and stinging behavior.