Bug Squad

The bees have it, The Beez Kneez, that is. The Beez Kneez, a Sacramento-based band led by Norm Gary, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, will reunite for one last performance on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at the Straw Hat Pizza, 2929 Mather Field Road, Rancho Cordova.

Picture this. Staff at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine's Center for Equine Health encountered "a strange little bug" that they'd never seen before outside their office Friday on Old Davis Road.

Photographers never tire of capturing images of ladybugs, aka lady beetles. First of all, they're beneficial insects. You know when you photograph them that they're about to scoot, crawl or fly off to grab a tasty lunch--an all-you-can-eat aphid buffet. Second, they're colorful.

There are insect photographers and there are insect photographers. There are those who point and shoot, those who shoot and point, and those who see the world through a viewfinder. And then there's Illinois-based Alex Wild, who is in a class by himself.

You usually see them crawling around, but never about to fly. The Western spotted cucumber beetles (Diabrotica undecimpunctata) is one of California's most common insects. And though quite attractive in coloring, it's a major agricultural pest.