Bug Squad

Some species of bumble bees are disappearing at an alarming rate. And that, in itself, is alarming. A three-year study published Jan.

Hmm, ever wonder why honey bees love salvia? Are they going for that nectar or are they going for something else? Salvia divinorum, which like all the salvias, is a member of the mint family, is gaining notoriety for its hallucinogenic effects.

Emcee Tom Turpin of Purdue University stood at the podium and acknowledged he might mispronounce an entomology student's name. "If it sounds anything like your name and Im looking at you, thats you.

So you're out roaming the countryside or cityscape in Solano, Yolo or Sacramento counties at the start of the new year and you encounter a Cabbage White butterfly.

You'd never know by his stunning art work that Christopher Marley once hated insects. (At right: a portion of his spectacular "Coleoptera Mosaic.