Bug Squad

Bumble bee on bull thistle at Bodega Bay
Article

Haven for Diversity

July 22nd, 2010
The Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, University of California, Davis, is a study in diversity.
View Article
Article

Sunny Sunflowers

July 21st, 2010
If you enjoy sunflowers--and the seeds and oil--thank a bee. Sunflowers, native to the Americas, are spectacular, especially when you encounter a field of them. If you look closely, you'll see honey bees, sunflower bees and bumble bees working the flowers. It's pollination at work.
View Article
Article

Please Pass the Ants

July 20th, 2010
You gotta love those ladybugs. Ladybugs, aka ladybeetles (family Coccinellidae), are best known for devouring aphids, those pesky little critters that suck plant juices. But have you ever seen ladybugs gobbling ants? There's a three-way predator-prey relationship here.
View Article
Article

Heaven Scent

July 19th, 2010
The wild roses planted last fall in the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis, are both "heaven sent" and "heaven scent." The fragrance is delightful.
View Article
Article

In the Land of WAS

July 16th, 2010
It's rare for any one person to serve five terms as president of an organization. But such is the case with Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, who took the helm of the Western Apicultural Society for five terms.
View Article