Bug Squad

It will be a gathering of beekeepers next week in California. And it promises to be informative, educational and inspiring.

If you like Pokmon, you know the insect connection. Satoshi Tajiri of Japan, who developed Pokmon, collected insects in his childhood and initially toyed with the idea of becoming an entomologist.

Some folks like to watch the grass grow, flowers bloom, or clouds drift. Others just like to sit back and look for insects.

There it was. A green caterpillar, aka larva, aka worm, occupied a blanket flower (Gaillardia) last Friday morning in the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre pollinator garden on Bee Biology Road at the University of California, Davis. Soon a honey bee from the nearby Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

If you're passionate about Passiflora (passion flower vine), you're probably passionate about those Gulf Fritillary butterflies (Agraulis vanillae). It's November with temperatures in the unseasonal mid-80s, and the butterflies are laying eggs like there's no tomorrow.