Bug Squad

Oh, the joys of rearing monarch butterflies. Not for commercial purposes. For conservation purposes. For a couple of months now, we've been watching the monarch caterpillars slowly disappearing from our milkweed plants. We'd see fifth instar 'cats one day, and the next day, they'd be gone.

Everyone from scientists to environmentalists to beekeepers are clamoring for more research on the effects of neonicotinoids on honey bees.

Everyone's talking about the drones. You know, the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV). Those flying robots cruising over our heads--some with cameras for journalistic and research purposes and others with "need-to-know" purposes.

It's been called a "wake-up call." And that it is. It's designed to alert people to a problem that needs fixing. And that's good news for the monarch butterflies. California Gov.

Professor Walter Leal of the University of California, Davis, is co-chairing the 2016 International Congress of Entomology (ICE) conference, themed "Entomology Without Borders," to be held Sept. 25-30 in Orlando, Fla. Some 7000 entomologists from all over the world are expected to attend.