Bug Squad

It's not red but it definitely rocks. It rocks because it's drought-tolerant and it rocks when honey bees and bumble bees visit it. And it's pretty. The Penstemon x Mexicali "Red Rocks" is a white-throated cherry-pink flower.

A world without mosquitoes? An article in the July 21st edition of Nature asked that very question. Author Janet Fang, an intern in Nature's Washington, D.C., office, wrote that "Malaria infects some 247 million people worldwide each year, and kills nearly one million.

Are you ready to celebrate something really important in your life? Without this "something," your table fare would be sparse. What? Honey bees. And now, there's an official day to celebrate them. The second annual National Honey Bee Awareness Day is set Saturday, Aug. 21.

Today was a day of recognition for three University of California entomology professors. The Entomological Society of America this morning announced the 2010 Fellows. Each year the governing board can elect up to 10 members as Fellows of the 6000-member society.

Do you dig digger bees (Anthophora bomboides stanfordiana)? They're populating the sandy cliffs of Bodega Head, Sonoma County. A sure sign of their presence: dense clusters of turrets.