Bug Squad

It's great to see Jessica West, a member of Joanna Chiu's molecular genetics lab in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and a member of the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology.

What's that wet stuff falling from California skies? Could it be the "R" word, rain? Or what Wikipedia calls "liquid water in the form of droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then precipitatedthat is, become heavy enough to fall under gravity?" It is.

Nobody really bats an eye when a chicken lays an egg. That's what we expect them to do. But when a butterfly lays an egg, that's a different story--especially in December.

Curious about those insect-eating bats? Yolo County Farm Advisor Rachael Freeman Long, who has been researching and writing about bats for 20 years, has two colonies of bats at her ranch in Woodland.

So you're thinking about a holiday gift for someone who has everything. You've racked your brain trying to think of the perfect gift. Nothing. You can think of nothing. Nothing is not good. Nothing can get you in big trouble. VERY. BIG. TROUBLE.