Bug Squad

If the praying mantis were six feet tall, what an incredible space alien it would make. It's a well-equipped predator, with keen eyesight, a rotating head, and two spiked forelegs that grab and grasp unsuspecting prey. It's not about "who's coming to dinner"; it's "what's coming to dinner.

Timber Cove in Sonoma County has scores of insects, including honey bees, bumble bees and spotted cucumber beetles. But last week, for the first time, we spotted a male Acmon Blue, Plebejus acmon, as identified by noted butterfly expert Art Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis.

It's often called a "pond damselfly" or a "narrow-winged damselfly." We spotted this brilliant blue damselfly on a Great Valley gum plant (Grindelia camporum) near the Sciences Laboratory Building at the University of California, Davis.

A malaria-proof mosquito? Research news coming out of the University of California, Davis and the University of Arizona labs recently drew international attention; the scientists have genetically engineered mosquitoes that are resistant to malaria parasites.

If you've seen a lot of buckeye butterflies this season, you're not alone. It's a big year for buckeyes, says noted butterfly expert Arthur Shapiro, professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis. He counts between "30 and 85 a day" in West Sacramento and North Sacramento.