This is a winter event you won't want to miss. The event: The 13th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, a Super Science Day. It's an opportunity to see scientists in action.
A praying mantis, an incredible ambush predator, can lie in wait for hours for its prey. Often it's so camouflaged that it totally blends in with its habitat. It can rotate its head 180 degrees--and nothing, it seems, can escape its view.
Ever seen a Gulf Fritillary laying an egg? The Gulf Frit, or "passion butterfly" (Agraulis vanillae), lays her tiny, yellow eggs, singly, on her host plant, the passionflower vine (Passiflora). The egg? It's about the size of a pin head.
The monarch migration is well underway. The iconic butterflies fluttering into California from the Pacific Northwest engage in "nectar stops" to fuel their flight to their overwintering sites along coastal California. They are not the only ones seeking nectar.
