Bug Squad

You don't usually see "honey bees" and "malaria" in the same sentence.

It was lovely day today, in more ways than one. During the lunch hour, we stopped by the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis, and discovered more than just blossoms in the planter box filled with fava beans.

We've been waiting with bated breath for butterfly expert Art Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis, to announce he's found the first Pieris rapae of the year. Not so. Not yet.

The news that flashed across the Internet today indicates there's a new threat to honey bees, a parasitic phorid fly.

When California poppies (Eschscholzia californica) bloom and honey bees battle over the blossoms, can spring be far behind? No, it's just California's pleasant weather.