Bug Squad

Its all about the bees, the garden and the art. The UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program is installing mosaic ceramic panels on cement planters at the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden on Bee Biology Road, west of the UC Davis central campus.

Lavender. Honey bees love it. We watched a honey bee foraging on lavender blossoms last weekend, when an ant appeared on the scene. The ant? A worker of Liometopum occidentale (velvety tree ant), according to ant specialist Phil Ward, professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis.

When Mary Frances "Fran" Keller, doctoral candidate at the UC Davis Department of Entomology, delivers her exit seminar on Wednesday, May 29, the audience will get a glimpse of all the titles she holds.

Bees carry pollen in their pollen baskets, but that's not the only place.

It happened unexpectedly. Tabatha Yang and her six-month-old son, Karoo, were sitting on their lawn last Sunday at their West Davis home, when she saw red. Literally. One minute they were enjoying the springlike weather, and the next minute his head was covered with bright red dots.