Bug Squad

Some folks have the best of both worlds. Noted bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey not only has the best of both worlds, but the best of both springs. Cobey, affiliated with the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

If you're looking for vanishing pollinators this weekend, head over to the Marin Civic Center, 3501 Civic Center Drive, San Rafael, and see the ecoart exhibit produced by WEAD, the Women Environmental Artists Directory. The occasion is the 2010 Bioneers Conference, focusing on food and farrming.

Scores of people want to hear what Murray Isman has to say. And on Wednesday night, Oct. 27, they can. Murray Isman, a noted expert on botanical insecticides, will deliver the Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Seminar in Entomology at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct.

This is no ordinary calendar. No oceans. No mountains. No deserts. Each month features a "pin-up girl." But these models will never run for Miss America or promote world peace. Only a few have social skills and most are solitary. Take a look at Miss May. She's a sweat bee.

You gotta love that red buckwheat (Eriogonum grande rubescens). Attractive to honey bees, native bees and butterflies, red buckwheat is flourishing in the garden. Okay, it's called red buckwheat, but the clusters are rosy pink. They're about the same size as ping-pong balls.