Bug Squad

Some folks call them "bugsy" or "mosquito hawks" or "skeeter eaters" "flying daddy longlegs." They may look like Texas-sized mosquitoes but they're not mosquitoes. Neither do they eat mosquitoes. They're crane flies in the order Diptera, family Tipulidae. And they're found worldwide.

Get ready! It's almost time to count the pollinators! The University of California's Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) wants you set aside three minutes on Thursday, May 8 and count the pollinators wherever you live--and they live--in California.

Do you now where the bees are? On Thursday, May 8 let's all step outside for three minutes and count the honey bees and other pollinators. It's all part of the "Day of Science and Service" sponsored by the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR).

Moths. Mother's Day. The two go together like a moth to a flame, so why not have "Moth-er's Day?" And that's exactly what the Bohart Museum of Entomology is doing from 1 to 4 p.m.,Sunday, May 4 in Room 1124 of Academic Surge, Crocker Lane, UC Davis. The open house is free and open to the public.

Foxgloves are called "the lurking place of the fairies." That could be. Foxgloves are also known by their genus name, Digitalis--meaning fingerlike. The genus is native to western and southwestern Europe, western and central Asia, Australasia and northwestern Africa.