Bug Squad

How do you pin and spread a butterfly? Entomologist Jeff Smith, an associate at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, showed everyone from pre-schoolers to adults how to do just that at the Bohart's recent open house. It was all hands-on.

"Why do honey bees die when they sting?" That's the question PBS Newshour asked Extension apiculturist (retired) Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology for its "Just Ask" feature.

Give me an "A" (for excellence). Give me a "B" (for bee). Give me a "C" (for Cosmos). Watching honey bees collect nectar and pollen on the showy Cosmos (Cosmos bipannatus) is not to be missed.

Hide the cactus! There's a Mexican cactus fly in our midst. A large black fly hovers over a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) in our bee garden and then drops down to sip some nectar. At first glance it looks like a carpenter bee but this one hovers like a syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly.

"After Dark: When Tricks Are Treats." That's the theme of San Francisco's Exploratorium Pier 15 event on Thursday night, Oct. 2.