Bug Squad

Beer for a butterfly. Now that's an interesting concept. Thats what youll getor the cash equivalentif you collect the first cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) of 2012 in an area encompassing Yolo, Solano or Sacramento counties.

Call it a case of royalty plus. UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, has just received a double honor. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and he received a coveted award from his native Brazil.

We usually see praying mantids, aka praying mantises, camouflaged in foliage and lying in wait to ambush prey. But have you ever seen them frying flies over a kitchen stove? You will when you take a look at an Oklahoma photographer's work.

Most people have never served 38 consecutive years on an executive board that looks out for the health and welfare of two million people. But then again medical entomologist Robert Washino isn't most people.

So you're thinking you're putting on a little weight during the holidays. Not to worry. Put it all in perspective by thinking about the larvae of the honey bee.