Bug Squad

It's been several months since I've seen a Western yellowjacket, Vespula pensylvanica. But there it was, dead. It had drowned in an outdoor water bowl. Easy pickings, you say? Easy photography! It's a beautiful insect with its black and yellow coloration.

If you stand perfectly still and don't make any jerky movements, you can usually get a close-up image of a black syrphid fly, a Mexican cactus fly, Copestylum mexicanum. It's Friday Fly Day and this one was nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia.

A spectacular leaf insect is the latest addition to the Bohart Museum of Entomology's hallway display of origami, all crafted by UC Davis alumnus Kevin Murakoshi of Davis. Leaf insects, family Phylliidae, resemble leaves as their name implies.

When folks think of "migratory butterflies," they usually associate that term with monarchs. But painted ladies, Vanessa cardui, are also migratory.

Sunflowers bring out the best in us. They bring us joy, happiness, hope and unity. But wait until you watch the newly released PBS Deep Look video, "Why Do Sunflowers Face the Sunrise?" that spotlights the research of UC Davis and UC Berkeley scientists.