Bug Squad

When Walter Leal submitted his application in 2000 to join the faculty at the University of California, Davis, one of his references wrote "He is like an Energizer Bunny that never runs down.

Don't miss this UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT) seminar by ecologist Andrew Corbett, a research associate with ENT who is also highly skilled in simulation modeling and instructional design.

Zinnias are a great nectar source for migratory monarch butterflies as they wing their way to their overwintering spots along coastal California. How much do monarchs love zinnias? So much that sometimes a monarch will touch down on a zinnia right next to you.

Ever watched a red-shouldered hawk on a hunt? They eat a variety of prey, including small mammals, birds, snakes, lizards, fish, crayfish, insects and worms, according to the California Raptor Center (CRC), a research center that's part of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

It's Friday Fly Day, and time to post an image of a fly that masquerades as a bee. That would be "the bee fly," a fly so named because it resembles a bee Order: Diptera. Family: Bombyliidae. In its adult stage, it's a pollinator that feeds on nectar and pollen. In its larval stage, it's parasitoid.