Bug Squad

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.

if it's a streak of gray, you don't wash it away. You welcome it. The gray hairstreak butterfly (Strymon melinus) is common on our sedum, a good fall plant for pollinators, including butterflies, honey bees, sweat bees and syrphid flies, aka hover flies or flower flies.

Call it serendipity. Call it a prize from the sky. Frankly, it's not every day that a newly emerged Gulf Fritillary butterfly, Agraulis vanillae, lands at your feet.