Bug Squad

John Emery is a spider man. Oh, hes not a super hero who clings to city skyscrapers and chases villains and rescues damsels in distress. Hes the IT manager for Sue Mills, a company which sells school uniforms. But he's truly a spider man.

UC Davis bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr., Honey Bee Research Facility, is the kind of person who would give you the shirt off her back. Really. And that's exactly what she did when several visitors recently toured the Laidlaw facility.

The Smithsonian Institution is the place to "bee" on Monday, June 22. UC Davis pollinator specialist and researcher Robbin Thorp will join other bumble bee experts from across the country in a "Plight of the Bumble Bees" public symposium from 10 a.m.

Faster than a speeding bullet... As soon as UC Davis bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey opened a beehive and removed a chunk of honeycomb to show visitors, here came the speeding bullet. A fast camera shutter caught what the eye couldn't see. It was a queen yellowjacket taking dead aim at the comb.

WAS is not just the first and third person singular past indicative of be. It's the Western Apicultural Society, an organization dedicated to the science and art of rearing honey bees. You'll find scores of commericial beekeepers at the 31st annual WAS Conference, scheduled Aug.