Bug Squad

Two highly talented and enthusiastic university students from Brazil have joined the Walter Leal lab in the Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, as part of a unique and growing international agricultural exchange program. The program is known as SUSPROT.

Sage advice: If you're thinking of planting a bee friendly garden, think sage. Also commonly known as salvia, this bee friendly plant belongs to the mint family, Lamiaceae. The Salvia genus includes some 900 species, so your choices are good.

What's not to love about a baby bee? At one day old, the worker (female) bees are exquisite little creatures. Helpless, really. They can neither flee nor fight; they cannot fly and they cannot sting. No venom. That will come later. They're all big eyes, fluffy hair and downy softness.

If there's one plant in our yard that the honey bees don't like, it's the begonia. Lavender, sage, catmint and sedum? Bring 'em on. Sunflowers, citrus and pomegranate? Yes! Yes! Yes! Rock purslane? Like rock candy. Oh, how about a little begonia, Ms. Honey Bee? Sorry, not interested.

Good news! Entomologist Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and a member of the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences faculty, has just received one of three Pest Management Alliance Grants awarded by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR)...