Bug Squad

It's smaller than a honey bee. And faster and louder. Anthophora urbana, a solitary, ground-nesting bee, frequents our garden to nectar the catmint, lavender and sage. Sometimes the forager's buzz is so loud that it's startling.

Talk about a tiger by the tail. That would be the Western Tiger Swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). It's returned to the Davis area after a 15-year hiatus.

The bees have it. That would be honey bees and native bees. The UC Davis Department of Entomology has just launched its new bee biology Web site.

Entomologists, geneticists and virologists are still searching for the cause of colony collapse disorder (CCD). Yes, they're still searching, and no, there' s no known cause yet. CCD is a mysterious phenomonen characterized by adult bees abandoning the hive.

Thunder boomed across the garden. The carpenter bee (Xylocopata tabaniformis orpifex) meant business. She headed straight for the slowly opening rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora). Never mind that the petals hadn't quite unfolded.