Bug Squad

Westward, ho! The western migration of the Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) to their overwintering sites along the California coast is underway.

Honey bees and the Blue Angels... Honey bees sometimes seem to fly in formation over such plants as flowering artichokes, but their precision--if you could call it that--never matches that of the Blue Angels. For one, the pollen-packing bees are wobbly and bump into one another.

She described it to a "T." That would be "T" for territorial. Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology at UC Davis, spotlighted the European wool carder bee in her current edition of the Bohart Museum Society newsletter. The males are aggressive.

These things go together: Ham and eggs, macaroni and cheese, and beer and bugs.

How's your front yard looking? A little bit brown due to the drought? Thinking of replacing some of your plants with drought-tolerant ones? And hoping to attract some bees, butterflies and other wildlife? You're in luck.