Bug Squad

Shirley Polykoff (1909-1998), the advertising legend who coined the words "Is it true blondes have more fun?" for a Clairol jingle, raised awareness of blondes, insinuating that "gentlemen prefer blondes.

On an outing last Saturday to a Marin County restaurant, we spotted half-filled glasses lining a railing near the picnic tables. As the guests dined on seafood, yellowjackets dined on bits of protein left behind.

It's no surprise that students as young as kindergarteners are eager to learn about the life cycle of a butterfly--from an egg, to a caterpillar to a chrysalis to an adult. Complete metamorphosis. Complete awe.

At last! From an egg to a caterpillar to a chrysalis to a butterfly. And it's a girl! For several days we've been protecting a Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) chryalis on our passionflower vine (Passiflora) from predators.

So patient, so passionate. The praying mantis looked hungry last Thursday when it perched on a coneflower in the half-acre Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis. Where's breakfast? Where's lunch? Where's dinner? Nowhere to be found.