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Black hover fly, aka Mexican cactus fly, sipping nectar from a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Hide the Cactus!

September 30, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hide the cactus! There's a Mexican cactus fly in our midst. A large black fly hovers over a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia) in our bee garden and then drops down to sip some nectar. At first glance it looks like a carpenter bee but this one hovers like a syrphid fly, aka flower fly or hover fly.
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IGIS: Article

High resolution free DEM data released for Africa

September 30, 2014
By Maggi Kelly
SRTM 3 Arc-Second (approx. 90m) SRTM 1 Arc-Second (approx. 30m) Landsat 7 December 17, 2000 Just in time for class on topography and rasters tomorrow: new high res shuttle DEM data is being released for Africa. The image above shows the Niger River Delta in 90m res, 30m res, and landsat.
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A walking stick is expected to be one of the Bohart Museum of Entomology attractions at Exploratorium Pier 15 on Oct. 2. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Enlightenment 'After Dark'

September 29, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"After Dark: When Tricks Are Treats." That's the theme of San Francisco's Exploratorium Pier 15 event on Thursday night, Oct. 2.
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A garden spider wraps its prey, a honey bee, in The Good Life Garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bug Squad: Article

The Good Life

September 26, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Okra. You either love it or hate. If you hate it, it's probably because of its characteristic "slime" that it produces. It's a mucilaginous plant. If you love it-- absolutely love it--you may be from the Deep South, where okra is king. They bread the slender green pods and deep-fry them.
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IGIS: Article

Raining on the King Fire

September 25, 2014
By Maggi Kelly
wunderground mapWundermap has a nice interface where you can add fires to your animated weather radar map. I caught this snap as our rare September storm (an atmospheric river apparently) moved over the King fire this afternoon.
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UC Davis graduate student Cindy Preto is studying vineyard leafhoppers. (Photo by Liam Swords)
Bug Squad: Article

A True Success Story

September 25, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Meet Cindy Preto. The new UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's graduate student is an incredible success story who hurdled the obstacles heaved in her path and lets nothingabsolutely nothing--block her education, enthusiasm, research or goals.
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Ecologist Rick Karban with sagebrush.
Bug Squad: Article

Pardon Me, But You're Eating My Relative!

September 23, 2014
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you're a sagebrush and a predator (such as a grasshopper) is eating your nearby kin, another sagebrush, it's good to be closely related. Through volatile (chemical) cues, your kin will inform you of the danger so you can adjust your defenses. Yes, plants can communicate.
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