Bug Squad

It won't bloom until summer, but already many eyes are on the California buckeye. The tree's blossoms are poisonous to honey bees. Bees are attracted to them and forage on them, but the end result of the food provisions to the colony can be deformed larval development.

Who wouldn't want to get up close and personal with bugs? And maybe give them a hug? Or two? Or three?

If you like oranges, you can thank a honey bee. Oranges are 90 percent dependent on honey bees for pollination. Remember that week of freezing temperatures back in December? Yes, it affected California's $2 billion citrus industry.

It's often mistaken for a honey bee. Indeed, to the untrained eye, the drone fly (Eristalis tenax) appears to be a bee. It's not; it's a fly. Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, calls the drone fly "The H Bee.

It's a glorious day, the first day of spring, and what better time to mark the occasion by visiting the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive?