Bug Squad

If you've never been to the 284-acre Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas, Austin, in the spring to see the flora and fauna--especially the breathtaking bluebonnets--you're in for a real treat.

Catch and release. Release and catch. No, wait. Catch...examine...and then release. That's what attendees will do at the UC Davis Bee Haven's 15th anniversary celebration, set from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, April 6 on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus.

The place to "bee" on Saturday, April 6 is the UC Davis Bee Haven. That's when the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will celebrate the 15th anniversary of its bee garden with an open house from 10 a.m. to noon. It's free and family friendly.

(Update: Watch his recorded seminar of April 8 here) Bees comprise more than 20,000 described species in seven families and are found on all continents except Antarctica, but where did they originate? And when did they originate?

The Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, is definitely back from a comeback, at least in the Sacramento, Davis and Vacaville-Fairfield areas.