Bug Squad

County fairs are known for cotton candy, corn dogs and cool treats. But some--such as the 136th annual Dixon May Fair in Solano County--have bugs! When the fair opens Wednesday, May 4 at 655 S. First St., the Floriculture Building will house gorgeous flowers...and gorgeous bugs. The Harry H.

Gotta love those solider beetles (family Cantharidae). When an army of soldier beetles goes on patrol in your garden, just thank them. These "leatherwings" are there to mete out justice to the plant-sucking aphids and other undesirable critters. Aphids are high on their menu preferences.

It's not just future entomologists who study insects. So do future physicians, veterinarians, chemists, ecologists and scores of others.

"Just wanna be your teddy bear..." When Elvis Presley sang that, his fans swooned. Well, there are bee fans that can't get enough of the "teddy bear" bee, aka the male Valley carpenter bee (Xylocopa varipuncta). It's often called a "golden bumble bee." Golden, it is. Bumble bee, it is not.

If you're suffering from a sleep disorder, then you'll want to know the kind of research that molecular geneticist Joanna Chiu of the UC Davis Department of Entomology is doing--with fruit flies. The research may one day lead to alleviating your sleep disorder.