A crab spider,  family Thomisidae, lies motionless in a patch of lavender, waiting to ambush a honey bee.   

So here I am, a crab spider, as hungry as can be

Does anyone out there feel sorry for me?

"Yes," say the arachnologists. The apiculturists say "no."

Well, I'll just hang out in the lavender and keep lying low. 

Hey, looky there! I'm going to fast-track that bee.

Sorry, I am who I am, and I gotta be me.

(Was the spider successful? Or did it experience food insecurity? To be continued)

Blister beetles (family Meloidae) are so named because they emit a poisonous chemical, cantharidin, that can blister your skin. Don't even think about touching them!

Blister beetles can infest alfalfa hay, and are toxic--even deadly--to livestock. See "Blister Beetles" published by the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station.

But did you know that...

Blister beetles are pollinators!

We recently saw a blister beetle eating pollen on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. We've also seen this insect transferring pollen. 

But we have...

When you venture into your pollinator garden, look for the beauty, color, diversity and the intensity that surrounds you. You will be astounded.

• A honey bee nectaring on lavender in a soft-pastel scenario.
• A katydid nymph crawling (backlit) on a blanketflower, Gaillardia.
• A Gulf Fritillary butterfly, Agraulis vanillae, nectaring on Lantana
• A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, perched on a Cosmo 
• A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, exiting a lavender patch. 

You're the gardener, and you'll be using your...

How policies affect emissions, land use, and the prices of fuel and vegetable oils

Over the last two decades, both the federal government and state governments have enacted policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation sector. In a new Special Issue of ARE Update, University of California agricultural economists explore how these federal and state renewable fuel policies have affected biofuel production for motor and aviation fuels and consider how these policies have affected land use and food prices. Their research shows that as U.S. demand for...