Bug Squad

Flies are pollinators, too. It's appropriate during National Pollinator Week to remember that. We spotted this newly emerged green bottle fly (below) nectaring on lavender last week in our yard. It seemed out of place among the honey bees, leafcutter bees and carpenter bees working the blossoms.

We have long-horned cattle and long-horned grasshoppers.

What's that hopping on our patio? At first we thought it was a grasshopper.

Flowering artichokes indicate one of two things (1) someone never bothered to harvest them or (2) someone loves bees. We let our artichokes flower. So does the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden on Bee Biology Road next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

Those who hike the trails of Bodega Head, a small promontory in Sonoma County overlooking the Pacific Ocean, enjoy the colorful wildflowers, the roaring ocean, and a sheltered sandy beach. They picnic. They play. They pose for photos. But there's one thing they don't do.