Bug Squad

 Today, May 20, is World Bee Day, and time to "raise awareness on the essential role bees and other pollinators play in keeping people and the planet healthy, and on the many challenges they face today," according to the World Bee Day organizers. "We have been celebrating this day since 2018, thanks to…

 So many queens at the California Honey Festival, which ended its two-day run on Sunday, May 17.The event, held in Woodland on the Yolo County Fairgrounds, wouldn't be a festival without our participating UC Davis scientists and educators. Amina Harris, retired director of the UC Davis Honey and…

 "Good morning, mourning cloak! Fancy meeting you here."The mourning cloak indeed chose a fancy meeting place. It touched down on our Tower of Jewels (Echium wildpretti) and began to nectar."I'm trying to get an image of you," I whispered. "Open your wings." And magically, or sort of magically, it did…

 You've seen dragonflies perched in meadows  but have you ever witnessed their hunting behavior?You won't want to miss the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Saturday, May 16 when UC Davis doctoral candidate and dragonfly expert Christofer Brothers shares his rhyming prose on dragonflies.He…

 An expert on the battle between root-knot nematodes and cowpeas will present a seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on Wednesday, May 20.Plant breeder, geneticist and nematologist Bao-Lam Huynh of UC Riverside will speak on "Genetic Analysis and Marker-Assisted…