Bug Squad

Drones--male bees--are a favorite of youthful visitors at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis. Drones have no stingers, so they can't sting. In fact, their sole purpose in life is to mate with the virgin queen bee on her maiden flight.

Michael Parrella knows his bugs--and flowers. Flowers? He was just elected a member of California Floriculture Hall of Fame for distinguished leadership and service to the floral industry.

The Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis, is a study in diversity.

If you enjoy sunflowers--and the seeds and oil--thank a bee. Sunflowers, native to the Americas, are spectacular, especially when you encounter a field of them. If you look closely, you'll see honey bees, sunflower bees and bumble bees working the flowers. It's pollination at work.

You gotta love those ladybugs. Ladybugs, aka ladybeetles (family Coccinellidae), are best known for devouring aphids, those pesky little critters that suck plant juices. But have you ever seen ladybugs gobbling ants? There's a three-way predator-prey relationship here.