When temperatures soar, look for honey bees to head for water resources. On the grounds of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, something as simple as a freshly watered potted plant will do.

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Beetle Mania

August 18th, 2010

Gardeners pinch them. Photographers shoot them. Hikers wonder what they are. The spotted cucumber beetle (Diabrotica) is a major agricultural pest. You'll see it on cucumbers, squash, corn, beans, watermelons, musk melons, cotton, tomatoes and other crops.

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Space Alien

August 17th, 2010

If the praying mantis were six feet tall, what an incredible space alien it would make. It's a well-equipped predator, with keen eyesight, a rotating head, and two spiked forelegs that grab and grasp unsuspecting prey. It's not about "who's coming to dinner"; it's "what's coming to dinner.

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Blue Butterfly

August 16th, 2010

Timber Cove in Sonoma County has scores of insects, including honey bees, bumble bees and spotted cucumber beetles. But last week, for the first time, we spotted a male Acmon Blue, Plebejus acmon, as identified by noted butterfly expert Art Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis.

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Sliver of Blue

August 14th, 2010

It's often called a "pond damselfly" or a "narrow-winged damselfly." We spotted this brilliant blue damselfly on a Great Valley gum plant (Grindelia camporum) near the Sciences Laboratory Building at the University of California, Davis.

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