Bug Squad

If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and walks like a duck, it's probably a duck. If it looks like a bee, buzzes like a bee, and visits flowers like a bee, it might not be a bee. It could be a fly, or more specifically, a syrphid or flower fly.

What's happening to our bees?

"Gossamer" means something sheer, light and delicate, as in gossamer fabric. You can also apply it to the wings of a carpenter bee. We captured this image of a male carpenter bee (Xylocopa tabaniformis) nectaring on lavender. The wings look sheer, fragile and airy.

You wont want to miss the seminar on Bee Problems and Colony Losses on Wednesday, May 13 in 122 Briggs Hall, UC Davis. If you cant make it in person, you can listen to it live via Webinar.

A honey bee newsletter, "From the UC Apiaries" newsletter, written by Cooperative Extension Apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology Faculty, provides linformative and educational information for beekeepers and those interested in the plight of the honey bee.