Bug Squad

They're up and at it long before the honey bees. Before dawn breaks, you'll see the tiny bees gathering nectar and pollen in squash, pumpkins and other cucurbits. They're squash bees (Peponapis pruinosa), sometimes called the plush bee.

When you look at the tiny unassuming walnut twig beetle--it's smaller than a grain of rice--you wonder how it could possibily kill a majestic black walnut tree. By itself, it can't. But when it's associated with a specific fungus that hitchhikes on the beetle, were talking serious problems.

The Baxter House is no more. The UC Davis Fire Department burned it down yesterday. It's gone, along with assorted black widow spiders, scattered crane flies, munchkin termites and maybe a meandering ant or wandering fly or two. (After all, this is a "bug" blog.

The honey bee hive is not all sweetness. The first virgin queen bee to emerge from her cell (each queen cell resembles a peanut shell) will rid the colony of her competition. After emerging, the queen makes a mark on the other queen cells.

The bees are dropping like flies--in swimming pools all over northern California during this triple-digit heat wave. Honey bees collect water to aircondition their hive. They sip from bird baths, dripping faucets, water-splashed plants and even wet laundry hanging on the line.