Bug Squad

 Interested in pollinator biology, health and policy? We all should "bee."Professor Michelle Flenniken of Montana State University (MSU), is chairing an International Conference on Pollinator Biology, Health, and Policy 2026 that is set June 25-27 in the Strand Student Union Building, Bozeman. …

 UC Davis doctoral candidate Madison "Madi" Hendrick, scheduled to receive her doctorate in entomology in June, will present her exit seminar on "Integrated Pest Management in California Field Crops: Challenges in Alfalfa and Rice" on Friday, June 5.Her seminar is set for 10 a.m. in 366 Briggs Hall, UC…

 Honey bees can't get enough of the Tower of Jewels, Echium wildpretii.Wildpretii?  Sometimes you feel like addingan extra "t" and remove an "i." It's pronounced "wild-PRET-ee-eye."A towering, flowering biennnial plant in the family Boraginaceaes, it's named for the 19th century Swiss botanist…

 Spiders know where the bees are.Crab spiders hide in the petals and ambush foraging bees.  Orbweavers build sticky, silken webs. Jumping spiders actively stalk or pounce on bees. The predators and the prey...I spotted a bold jumping spider in our lavender patch this week and watched it nail a…

 Ever seen a leafcutter bee or carpenter bee heading toward their human-crafted nests, also called bee condos, bee hotels, bee beds, bee houses or bee abodes?When you visit the UC Davis Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis, you may see them.The Haven, a half-acre pollinator garden installed by the UC…