Bug Squad

Diane Ullman, Donna Billick and Sarah Dalrymple (Sarah is shown at right) are used to thinking outside the box. Now they are thinking inside and outside the hive. Visitors to the grand opening celebration of the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, set from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept.

Ever notice how the coloring of the wool carder bee resembles a yellowjacket and European paper wasp? Talk about capitalizing on the colors. Carder bees, so named because they card the fuzz or down from leaves to make their nests, are black and yellow.

There are "bees" and there are "flies." And then there are "bee flies." Bee flies? They're so named because they look somewhat like bees. Order: Diptera. Family: Bombyliidae. We spotted a single bee fly, as identified by UC Davis forensic entomologist Bob Kimsey, foraging on our sedum yesterday.

"A" is for anemone, "B" is for bumble bee and "C" is for coneflower. A visit to the Oregon state capitol grounds in Salem last Tuesday found scores of yellow-faced bumble bees (Bombus vosnesenskii) working the anemones and purple coneflowers.

When the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven's grand opening celebration takes place on Saturday, Sept. 11, visitors can expect to see scores of flowers, including the ever-popular catmint (Nepeta). Honey bees love the mints. So do bumble bees, carpenter bees, butterflies and assorted other insects.