It's that time of year again. Teachers ask their students to make an insect collection. The project is considered a "rite of passage." However, often the students--whether they be middle school, high school or college level--don't know where to begin.
It's a sin to kill a mockingbird, wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harper Lee in her classic novel, "To Kill a Mockingbird." "Mockingbirds don't do one thing except make music for us to enjoy," one of her characters, Miss Maudie, wisely observed.
Privacy, please! You're walking by a patch of lavender and Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) and you notice that two Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae) are doing what birds 'n' bees 'n butterflies do. Well, some folks call it "bug porn" and some call it a "two-for" images--two insects in one photo.
What a nice move! Especially since the United States is busily restoring diplomatic relations with Cuba. Think entomology. Think ICE. Think ICE'ing on the cake. Think ICE'ing on an entomological cake.
Mark your calendar! The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology has scheduled a fall open house, the last of the season, at its Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Friday, Oct. 2 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. It's free and open to the public.
