Blister beetles (family Meloidae) are so named because they emit a poisonous chemical, cantharidin, that can blister your skin. Don't even think about touching them! Blister beetles can infest alfalfa hay, and are toxic--even deadly--to livestock.
When you venture into your pollinator garden, look for the beauty, color, diversity and the intensity that surrounds you. You will be astounded. A honey bee nectaring on lavender in a soft-pastel scenario. A katydid nymph crawling (backlit) on a blanketflower, Gaillardia.
Meet "The Moth Man." If you attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual Moth Night celebration, affiliated with National Moth Week, you'll meet John De Benedictis, better known as The Moth Man. The indoor-outdoor event, free and open to the public, is set from 7 to 11 p.m.
Ettamarie Peterson, fondly known as "The Queen Bee of Sonoma County," will be displaying a bee observation hive at the Vacaville Museum Guild's Children's Party on Thursday, Aug. 8 but the life of a queen bee is not for her.
One potato, two potato, three potato, four... You never know what will pop up in a pollinator garden. Meet Mr. Potato Capsid, Closterotomus norvegicus, often found on nettle, potato, clover and cannabis.
