![Convergent Lady Beetle Adult (Credit: Jack Kelly Clark)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/59422small.jpg)
This Saturday, April 13th, is the annual Picnic Day celebration at UC Davis.
Join the UC Statewide IPM Program from 9am to 3pm at the entomology building Briggs Hall on the UC Davis campus. We'll have lady beetles (ladybugs) to give away, information on beneficial insects, stickers and temporary tattoos. Plus, this is a great time to get your pest questions answered and learn about the UC IPM resources available to the public.
![Adult mantis. (Credit: Jack Kelly Clark)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/55197small.jpg)
Praying mantids are well-known predators we often see lurking around gardens, landscapes, and sometimes near porch lights, waiting for a tasty meal to arrive.
Praying mantid adults are 2 to 4 inches (5-10 cm) long and are usually yellowish, green, or brown. Mantids (often referred to as praying mantis) go through incomplete metamorphosis (egg, nymph, adult) and have one generation per year. Overwintering eggs are laid in groups in hard, grayish egg cases which are glued to wood, bark, or other plant material. Adults and immatures (nymphs) have an elongated thorax and grasping forelegs, which they have the...
![UC IPM staff Belinda Messenger-Sikes interacting with public. (Credit: Chinh Lam)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/52088small.jpg)
Last Saturday, UC IPM staff greeted a swarm of visitors at their Picnic Day booth. Picnic Day, UC Davis' annual Open House event, invites people to visit the campus and interact with fun and educational exhibits. UC IPM has participated in Picnic Day for more than a decade and this year attracted visitors to their booth with live insects like hissing cockroaches, a termite colony, and crane flies. UC IPM staff answered many questions about pests, pesticides, and cleared up misconceptions about some common insects.
What did we talk with people about?
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
![Lady beetles. (Credit: Jack Kelly Clark)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/51900small.jpg)
Come visit us at the UC Davis annual Picnic Day event this Saturday April 21, 2018! Every year, the UC Statewide IPM Program sets up informational tables as part of the Entomology Department events at Briggs Hall.
As in past years, we will give out ladybugs (lady beetles), have preserved insects on display, showcase our publications and outreach materials, and be there to answer people's pest questions.
Stop by and say hello and check out all the fun activities and information UC IPM and the Entomology Department has to show you!
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
![Mature female western black widow spider. [Photo by R. Vetter]](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/UCIPMurbanpests/blogfiles/25754small.jpg)
Halloween is the perfect time to talk about some of the creepy, crawlies that scare people the most: Spiders.
Many people think that all spiders are dangerous, scary, and aggressive. Most spiders are harmless and serve a beneficial role by catching and killing pest insects.
There are many different types of spiders inhabiting homes and gardens. In California, the main spider capable of causing serious injury is the black widow, which generally remains outdoors and out of sight. Spiders seen out in the open during the day are unlikely to bite people.
The UC Statewide IPM Program has lots of information to help you identify