Bug Squad

Sweet! That one word aptly describes the generous donation by Gimbal's Fine Candies, San Francisco, to aid honey bee research at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis.

Picture this. It's a picture-perfect day on Thursday, April 1 at Olivarez Honey Bees, Inc. in Orland, Calif. Susan Cobey's queen bee-rearing class at the University of California, Davis, is touring the bee farm with guide Ray Olivarez Jr.

A golden bee on golden mustard. What could represent spring in California more than that? Well, besides the just-ended almond pollination season. Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

It wouldn't dare rain on Susan Cobey's queen bee-rearing classes. And it didn't today. Well, a little sprinkle, but that was it. Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

It probably wasn't colony collapse disorder. Probably not pesticides, a disease, malnutrition or stress, either. It could have been a pest.