Bug Squad

A miss is as good as a mile...or a smile. The Buckeye (Junonia coenia) is a striking butterfly patterned with eyespots and white bars. We saw one today nectaring on sedum, but with chunks of a wing missing. Perhaps a bird or a praying mantis tried to grab it. It narrowly escaped predation.

The newly revised book, Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, by Dewey Caron with Lawrence (Larry) John Connor, is a wealth of information. Published by Wicwas Press of Kalamazoo, Mich., it doubles as a university textbook and a "how-to" resource for beekeepers.

Honey bee guru Eric Mussen never misses an opportunity to talk about the importance of honey bee nutrition It's critical issue.

To bee or not to bee--a photographer. Capturing images of honey bees is a delightful leisure activity. You don't have to sign up for a safari on another continent, or invest in thousands of dollars worth of camera gear.

Valley carpenter bees are passionate about passionflower vines (Passiflora). You see these black bees foraging on the blossoms. Tiny grains of golden pollen, looking like gold dust, dot the thorax. Their loud buzz frightens many a person, but wait, they're pollinators.