Bug Squad

Ever seen a rain beetle? During these winter rainstorms, keep your eye out for the rain beetle, genus Pleocoma, family Pleocomidae. You may see them before sunrise or just after sunset. The males can fly only a couple of hours before they die. The females are flightless.

If you're planning to visit the Bohart Museum of Entomology on the University of Davis, campus, the hours are limited during the holiday season. Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator, announced today: The last day in December that we are open to the public is Thursday, Dec. 15 from 9 a.m.

There's not much blooming this time of year but if and when blossoms burst open, the honey bees are going to find them. Take the Anisodontea capensis, the cape mallow or African mallow. It's a species in the mallow family, Malvaceae.

"Bee-free honey?" What? It's interesting that a company based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, has announced plans to produce a "bee-free honey." Snackandbakery.com recently published a piece about Fooditive's plans.

One of my fondest memories of my beekeeper father: Mixing warm butter and golden honey and spooning it onto freshly baked (homemade) yeast bread.