Bug Squad

It was great to see the Entomological Society of America (ESA) select "neonicotinoids" as a student debate topic for its recent meeting in Portland, Ore. Bee health is a challenge, and this hot topic tied in with ESA President Frank Zalom's theme "Grand Challenges Beyond the Horizons.

If you should ask Extension apiculturist (emeritus) Eric Mussen of the University of California, Davis, whether he believes that neonicotinoids are the primary cause of colony collapse disorder (CCD), he will say answer you fair and square: "No, they're not the primary cause of CCD.

Two's company. Three's a crowd? Not necessarily. Sometimes we wish it were half a dozen.

It's great to see Jessica West, a member of Joanna Chiu's molecular genetics lab in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and a member of the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology.

What's that wet stuff falling from California skies? Could it be the "R" word, rain? Or what Wikipedia calls "liquid water in the form of droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then precipitatedthat is, become heavy enough to fall under gravity?" It is.