Bug Squad

Christian Nansen is an entomologist on the move.

It is not a good time to be a butterfly. Especially if you're a monarch butterfly that eclosed on Jan. 5 in cold and rainy Vacaville, Calif. while all--or most--of your counterparts are overwintering along coastal California or in central Mexico.

We remember hearing Bruce Hammock, distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, present a seminar on From Butterflies to Blood Pressure and Beyond." He marveled at how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly and said that "science is full of surprises.

From honey bees to flower thrips to Asian longhorned beetles... From a beneficial insect to pests... It's good to see the wide diversity of topics in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's winter seminar schedule.

Nice to see you! That's how we greeted our very last bumble bee of 2016. The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, apparently came out of hibernation and started nectaring on mallow Nov. 14 at the Natural Bridges State Park, Santa Cruz.