Bug Squad

Ah, rain! Ah, liquid precipitation! Just when we were feeling drought-stressed, the weather forecast turned to rain. I don't know if "the rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain," but the rain in Northern California fell squarely on our bee friendly garden last weekend.

What's medical entomolology? Anyone who's an entomologist or who works in entomology is asked that question periodically. Medical, they know. Entomology? Often not.

Good news. Its official.

It's a sad photo. The antenna of a honey bee pokes out of an abandoned hive. Victim of colony collapse disorder (CCD)? Perhaps. Everytime I look at the bent antenna, I think of a plea for help. Help me! Help me! Please help me! This bee should have been nectaring flowers or gathering pollen.

Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, said it best. "Headgear." The "headgear" was actually a Giant New Guinea Walking Stick crawling up the face of Eric San Gregorio, an undergraduate student majoring in entomology at UC Davis.