From the UC Blogosphere...
A Hole for One
During the day, European wool carder bees (so named because the females collect or "card" plant fuzz for their nests) forage...
This bee condo, meant for blue orchard bees, is attracting a European wool carder bee, Anthidium manicatum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a sleeping European wool carder bee, Anthidium manicatum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
European wool carder bee, Anthidium manicatum, in flight, heading for lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All About Honey Bees
To commemorate National Honey Bee Day, Jefferson Exchange host Geoffrey Riley of Jefferson Public Radio, Southern...
Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen talks to a tour group at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Exension apiculturist Eric Mussen, a past president of the Western Apicultural Society (WAS), speaks at a recent WAS conference in Healdsburg, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Bounty of Pollination
If you want to learn more about honey bees and other pollinators, then “The Bounty of Pollination: More Than Just...
Honey bee heading toward tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Yellow-faced bumble bee (Bombus vosnesenskii) on tower of jewels. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Sounds of Katydids
Ever heard the sound of katydids? The meadow katydids, the true katydids, the round-headed katydids, the bush katydids and...
Katydid climbing a wall. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Nymph katydid on California golden poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Would Rachel Carson embrace GMOs?
Rachel Carson, the author of "Silent Spring," a book credited for advancing the environmental movement in the U.S., would have supported the use of genetic engineering in agriculture, says Pamela Ronald, professor in the Department of Plant Pathology at UC Davis. Ronald considered the possibility in an op-ed article published in Forbes.
Carson envisioned harnessing the knowledge of biological diversity — entomology, pathology, genetics, physiology, biochemistry and ecology — to shape a new science of biotic controls that would help control weeds, diseases and pests without further damaging the environment, Ronald wrote.
"Her dream of a science-based agricultural system may come as a surprise to those who believe that sustainability and technology are incompatible," the article says.
In her UC Davis laboratory, Ronald has genetically engineered rice that tolerates flooding and resists disease.
"I have to believe that, if Rachel Carson were alive today, she would reject the anti-science, fear-mongering of anti-GE campaigners," Ronald said.