- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The UC Davis professor and scores of other taxonomists would have been amazed at all "the undescribed species" that emerged from the arts-and-crafts activity at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on "Many-Legged Wonders" on March 18. Families created new species of arachnids, myriapods, isopods, tardigrades and other critters with colorful modeling clay and equally colorful pipe cleaners.
Doctoral candidate Emma Jochim of the Bond lab originated the clay project. UC Davis students staffed the arts-and-crafts table.
The creativity, color and camaraderie proved captivating. Lots of legs, no legs, red, blue, green...is that what I think it is?
The hierarchical classification probably went like this:
Kingdom? Check!
Phylum? Check!
Class? Check!
Order? Wait, I'm not sure!
Family? Well, it's part of some family.
Genus? I am not a genius--please tell me!
Species? Ummm....you decide!
At the open house, the 350-plus visitors learned about a wide array of critters, including spiders, scorpions, vinegaroons, centipedes, millipedes, myriapods, isopods and more. The "more" included tenants of the Bohart Museum's live petting zoo of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, tarantulas and stick insects.
Meanwhile, the family arts-and-crafts activity, a traditional part of the Bohart Museum's open houses, drew both experienced and budding artists throughout the afternoon.
The Bohart Museum, dedicated to "understanding, documenting and communicating terrestrial arthropod diversity," houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus the live petting zoo, and an insect-themed gift shop. Founded in 1946 and named for UC Davis professor Richard Bohart, it is open to the public Mondays through Thursdays, from 8 a.m. to noon, and 1 to 5 p.m. More information is available on the Bohart website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or by emailing bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
The Bohart Museum is now preparing for the annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 15. This year is the 109th annual.
Spring is finally here, but unfortunately so are the pests!
While doing your spring cleaning or staying indoors due to our recent rain, you may have noticed some insects and spiders have moved in with you. Many pests are emerging from their winter rest, and taking cover from the cool, wet weather.
If you've found tiny brown, white, and black patterned beetles on windowsills, curtains, or walls near entryways, they may be carpet beetles. Adult beetles are about 1/10 inch and feed on pollen and nectar from flowers like crape myrtle and spirea. They can be brought indoors on cut flowers or they may fly in from nearby plants outside. A few adult beetles inside your home are typically not a problem. However, be on the lookout for their larvae or signs of their damage. Carpet beetle larvae feed on natural fibers such as wool, silk, leather, fur, and pet hair. They can damage rugs and carpets, yarn, clothing, and leather book bindings. Larvae will not feed on synthetic fibers like polyester. You can reduce sources of food for larvae by cleaning up lint, hair, dead insects, or debris. Adults can be relocated to the outdoors, but larvae are more difficult to control. See Pest Notes: Carpet Beetles for management strategies.
Spiders often end up inside while looking for food and if the right conditions are present–dark, dusty, hidden areas–they may stay a while. Some people may not mind the occasional spider, as they feed on other pests like flies, moths, and beetles. It is uncommon for most California spiders to bite you, contrary to what many people think. This includes the brown recluse spider, which does not exist in California. To identify the various spiders you might come across, see the Pest Notes: Spiders.
There are many other household pests you might encounter now and throughout the year. Fortunately, UC IPM has tons of great information on what they are and how to control them! See Pests of homes, structures, people, and pets for more information, or watch UC IPM's webinar recording on Springtime Household Pests.
- Author: Devii R. Rao
California Ranchers:
We invite you to participate in a survey about California ranchers' and farmers' concerns, perceptions, information, and education needs related to changing climate conditions and adaptation. This survey is part of a research study funded by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and conducted by researchers at UC Cooperative Extension, UC Davis, and the USDA California Climate Hub. Survey results will be used to develop extension and education programs for farmers and ranchers.
Participation is voluntary and responses will be kept confidential; responses will be aggregated and shared in reports, academic papers, and presentations.
We expect the survey to take approximately 20 minutes. As a thank you, you can choose to enter a drawing to win one of forty $50 gift cards to Amazon (details at the end of survey).
Please click bit.ly/ranchersurvey to take the survey.
For any questions about this survey or study, contact Leslie Roche, lmroche@ucdavis.edu, Tapan Pathak, tpathak@ucanr.edu, Vikram Koundinya, vkoundinya@ucdavis.edu, or Namah Taku-Forchu, taku@ucdavis.edu.
Thank you for your participation!
Leslie Roche, Tapan Pathak, Vikram Koundinya, Namah Taku-Forchu
UC Davis/UC Cooperative Extension
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