Bug Squad

What do flies have in common with us? For one thing, an innate immune system mechanism to detect and fight off invaders that threaten our health. Four scientists, including two Nobel Laureates, will discuss host defense at a UC Davis symposium on Wednesday, Jan. 25 in the UC Davis Conference Center.

The parasitic fly (family Tachinidae) never had a chance. It went from floral visitor to spider prey to spider dinner when it made a single solitary mistake: it inadvertently fell into a sticky web.

You've probably already "put a bug" in Santa's ear, telling him what you want. But have you ever thought of putting a bug on your holiday card? If you're an entomologist, absolutely. If you like insects, probably. If you're not a bug lover, no.

You like ants, right? Of course you do. But probably not as much as Andrea Lucky, the "Queen of Ants." (Or as much as Phil Ward, her major professor at UC Davis or Alex Wild, the Illinois-based biologist and insect photographer who also studied with Ward.

The temperature on the UC Davis campus stood solidly at 56 degrees this afternoon. The less-than-ideal weather didn't seem to deter several Italian honey bees from foraging in a flower bed behind the Laboratory Sciences Building on the central campus.