Bug Squad

Most of us remember the old nursery rhyme, "Good night, sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite," and vow to do everything we can to avoid any blood-letting. Whether we call them "blood suckers," "menace in the mattress," or "human parasites," it's not cool to be bitten by bed bugs.

What's your favorite bug? Inquiring minds want to know. At least one inquiring mind wants to know.

This is the story of what may be three parasitized bumble bees. Or to put it more precisely, three Bombus melanopygus queens. Early this morning, in between dark and dawn, three black-tailed bumble bees buzzed around our porch lights.

They're the bugs you love to hate. Bed bugs, lice, ticks, mites, fleas and mosquitoes. If you want to see and/or learn more about them, attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology's "Snuggle Bugs" open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Jan.

It all began at UC Davis. The highly acclaimed research published in Current Biology that cracked the 200-year secret of complementary sex determination in honey bees is rooted right here, right here at UC Davis. Arizona State University Provost Robert E. Page, Jr.