Bug Squad

When there's so much pain, grief and sorrow in the world, it's time to shut off the TV, log off the computer, exit the house, and photograph honey bees. Watching honey bees foraging in the tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii, is therapy enough.

Congrats to The Bee Team at the University of California, Davis.

The first thing you notice when you walk up to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis, are the natives. Native plants, that is. California golden poppies and phacelia are among the plants sharing the "Pollination Habitat" bed.

Decisions, decisions... Where's the best spot for the new residents of my garden? I acquired two ladybugs last Saturday during the 99th annual UC Davis Picnic Day.

Bumble bees are major contributors to pollination of crops and wildflowers throughout the temperate northern hemisphere. Many species have declined, contributing to fears that we might face a 'pollination crisis.'" So says David Goulson, professor at the University of Stirling, U.K.