Oo-laa! Ookow! What a treat to see the Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutullus) gliding into a patch of ookow (Dichelostemma congestum), also known as wild hyacinth. A recent outing to Healdsburg, Sonoma County, found the tiger on the ookow.
A tip of the bee veil to Susan Cobey. Cobey, bee breeder-geneticist and manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, has won the 2009 Outstanding Service to Beekeeping award from the Western Apicultural Society (WAS).
What's causing colony collapse disorder (CCD)? Are we any closer to determining the cause? CCD, the mysterious malady characterized by bees abandoning the hive, leaving behind the brood and food storage, continues to be of great concern--and rightfully so.
Squatters' rights. A dandelion poking through the rocks near Nick's Cove on Tomales Bay, in Marshall, Sonoma County, seemed an unlikely host for squatters' rights. It first drew a tiny bee, barely a quarter-inch long.
