Bug Squad

The next time you see a yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) packing pollen, check out the color.

She researches fruit flies but she'll be discussing "The Concealed Beauty of Plant Architecture.

If you want to learn more about native bees, mark your calendar for Saturday, April 23. That's when the Davis Science Collective, a group of STEM graduate students at UC Davis who like to get together and do science outreach in their spare time, will host an event from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Mary L.

If you've ever wanted to taste exotic honeys (of course, you have!) and if you've ever wondered why native bees don't make honey (you have, haven't you?), then you're in luck.

Today was a glorious day in the Ruth Risdon Storer Garden in the UC Davis Arboretum. Absolutely glorious. The scent of the Korean lilac, Syringa patula, drew several pipevine swallowtails (Battus philenor), their iridescent blue hind wings gleaming in the late morning sun.