Bug Squad

It's almost time to celebrate! Or cele-bee-ate! In observation of National Pollinator Week, the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology has scheduled an open house at its half-acre bee garden, the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven from 5:30 to 7 p..m., Friday, June 19.

You never know what you'll see in your pollinator garden. That's why it's always a good idea to carry a camera with you, or you might miss a bit of drama. Not in drama queens, but in drama kings.

Newly published research by a Michigan State University-led team indicates that one of the reasons why the varroa mite is so destructive is because it infiltrates hives by smelling like a bee. The parasitic mite, or Varroa destructor, is a "blood sucker" that feeds on bees.

Let's hear it for Rei! Margaret Rei Scampavia, a doctoral candidate who studies with major professors Neal Williams and Edwin Lewis of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, won first place for her research poster at the recent UC Davis Bee Symposium, held in the Robert Mondavi Center for Wine...

Does sneezeweed make you sneeze? Over at the UC Davis Arboretum GATEway Garden. off First Street in downtown Davis, sneezeweed is blooming and bees and butterflies are all over it. We didn't see any of them "sneezing.