Bug Squad

There are marathons, read-a-thons, dance-a-thons, quilt-a-thons, paint-a-thons, geek-a-thons and sleep-a-thons. So why not a bee-a-thon? YourGardenShow.com is teaming with The Great Sunflower Project to sponsor a worldwide bee-a-thon, a free online town-hall event to be broadcast from 9 a.m. to 9 p.

You can't miss the flame skimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata). You especially can't miss the male, which is firecracker red. We watched a male flame skimmer hunt for prey over our fish pond Saturday afternoon.

All that glitters is not gold. The gold coin flowers (Asteriscus maritimus) planted in our yard attract a goodly number of leafcutter bees and hover flies (aka flower flies and syrphid flies). But if you look closely, gold coins attract something else--arachnids.

If the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis Department of Entomology, seemed like a lonely place in 1994, 2004 and 2005, that's because four professors retired. Now the bee biology program is gaining new strength.

Being named a Fellow of the 6000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA) is like winning the Pulitzer Prize in the bug world. So many talented entomologists out there. So few awards. And even fewer prestigious awards.