Bug Squad

Like to participate in an evening City Nature Challenge Bioblitz on the UC Davis campus and search for insects? And document other fauna and flora, as well?

A monarch butterfly caterpillar goes through five stages or instars before it J's and becomes a jade-green chrysalis. Scientists estimate that only 10 percent of the eggs and 'cats survive to adulthood. They don't "survive" at all in California classrooms.

"A lot of students take a gap year between their undergrad and grad program," says honey bee scientist Zac Lamas, a National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) postdoctoral fellow with the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Services (USDA-ARS). "I took a gap decade.

What insects did you see during the Solar Eclipse, dubbed "The Great North American Eclipse?" And what were they doing? In some parts of North America, as the moon passed between the earth and sun, folks saw a total solar eclipse. But here in Solano County, California, totality it was not. Partial.

If you've never been to the 284-acre Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas, Austin, in the spring to see the flora and fauna--especially the breathtaking bluebonnets--you're in for a real treat.