Bug Squad

Soon the quince and almonds will burst into bloom. Soon the honey bees will be buzzing all over them. And soon will be the third annual "The Feast: A Celebration with Mead and Honey," formerly known as the "Mid-Winter Beekeepers' Feast.

Oh, what a treasure to bee-hold! If you've ever visited UC Berkeley's Hastings Natural History Reserve in the upper Carmel Valley, Monterey County, and admired the yellow-faced bumble bees and other native bees foraging on vetch and lupine in the meadows, that's a scene you'll never forget.

If you've ever tried to rear monarch butterflies, you may have encountered a caterpillar parasitized by a tachinid fly, which oviposits or injects its eggs into it. The fly's life cycle continues, but the host dies. The tachinid fly is a parasitoid.

What's the status of the "Beer for a Butterfly" Contest? Do we have a winner? Well, there's good news and there's bad news. The good news: Art Shapiro found and collected a cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) on Jan.

If you haven't already seen it, you need to watch it. "Pollination and Protecting Pollinators" is a 51-minute documentary by Washington State University (WSU) Cooperative Extension that explores how valuable honey bees are, why they're crucial, and what we need to do to protect them.