Bug Squad

"Ah, look at that cute little yellow ladybug! Isn't it pretty?" How many times have you heard that? Often it is not the beneficial lady beetle--commonly referred to as a ladybug--but that dratted pest, the spotted cucumber beetle.

The first day of May calls for a little color. And the blanket flower (Gaillardia) fills the bill. Native to North and South America, it's a member of the sunflower family, Asteraceae. Its delightful yellow and red flowers remind us of the Native American Indian blankets.

Entomologists don't always study insects. If you're James R. Carey , distinguished professor of entomology at UC Davis, and you're in Africa, you also video them--insects like fog-harvesting Namib Desert beetle.

This weekend will be somewhat like "The Days of Bees and Roses.

Time to celebrate! The UC Davis Departmentof Entomology and Nematology has scheduled a fifth anniversary celebration of its bee garden on Saturday, May 2. It's difficult to believe that the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven is five years old. But it is, and the event will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.