Bug Squad

Insects populate the earth and they're also populating the 140th annual Dixon May Fair (May7-10). Sharon Payne, superintendent of the Youth Building in Denverton Hall, noticed quite a few insects in the building--but in photographs.

"All the buzz" in England is the birth of a new member of the royal family, Her Royal Highness Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge. Born last Saturday in London, she will be known as Princess Charlotte of Cambridge, officials at Kensington Palace announced.

"Ah, look at that cute little yellow ladybug! Isn't it pretty?" How many times have you heard that? Often it is not the beneficial lady beetle--commonly referred to as a ladybug--but that dratted pest, the spotted cucumber beetle.

The first day of May calls for a little color. And the blanket flower (Gaillardia) fills the bill. Native to North and South America, it's a member of the sunflower family, Asteraceae. Its delightful yellow and red flowers remind us of the Native American Indian blankets.

Entomologists don't always study insects. If you're James R. Carey , distinguished professor of entomology at UC Davis, and you're in Africa, you also video them--insects like fog-harvesting Namib Desert beetle.