Bug Squad

Honey bees can't get enough of the New Zealand tea tree, which, as its name implies, is a native of New Zealand. Our favorite New Zealand tea tree is Leptospermum scoparium keatleyi. It's the tallest and rangiest variety of the Leptospermum scopariums--that's one of the reasons we like it.

Symphony in the almond blossoms... There's a wild almond tree planted in a field off Bee Biology Road at the University of California, Davis, that's incredibly beautiful. Honey bees from the nearby apiary at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

If you want to know about the molecular neurobiology of feeding behavior in insects, then the University of California, Davis campus is the place to be on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

'Tis the season for the return of the insects. Many a honey bee foraged in the flowering quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) last weekend. But wait, what's that? A spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) tucked inside a blossom.

It's good to see that the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and noted bumble bee expert Robbin Thorp of UC Davis have filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Endangered Species Act protection for the beleagured rusty-patched bumble bee.