Ongoing research

Recently I was a participant on an educational noxious weed tour in Sierra Valley. It is a beautiful mountain valley where most agricultural production is devoted to grazing and hay production.

So here's this cute little reddish/orangish caterpillar munching away on a passionflower vine. It's Sunday and he's having Sunday dinner--after having Sunday breakfast and lunch and snacks in between, thank you. He's on his way to becoming a Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) butterfly.

Finally, the armyworm season seems to be over. Moth trapping shows that the numbers are decreasing to the lowest levels of the season. Additionally, most fields are ripening and therefore less susceptible to armyworm injury. Overall, armyworm infestations were not as severe as last year.

Noted medical entomologist William Hazeltine II (1926-1994) made a difference. Today he continues to make a difference through his legacy--supporting mosquito research of UC Davis graduate students. Hazeltine, a U.S.

It's a day that rice growers look forward to. Bugs, not so much. Because they're targeted. Especially the fall armyworms.

A soap opera is usually defined as a drama performed as a serial on daytime TV. But soapberry bugs and the people who study them are much more interesting! Forget the soaps; let's talk about soapberry bugs and an entomologist at the University of California, Davis, who studies them.

Various insects, birds, and other animals pollinate plants. Bees, especially honey bees, are the most vital for pollinating food crops. Many California crops rely on bees to pollinate their flowers and ensure a good yield of seeds, fruit, and nuts.

Between the years 1949-1979 the Pacific Southwest research station branch of the U.S. Forest service published two series of maps: 1) The Soil-Vegetation Maps, and 2) Timber Stand Vegetation Maps.

If you're walking along the cliffs of Bodega Head, Sonoma County, you may overlook them. While you're watching for whales, scouting for seabirds and checking out the hikers, there's a lot of movement in the seaside daises (Erigeron glaucus) and seaside woolly sunflower (Eriophyllum staechadifolium).

Join the Central Coast Rangeland Coalition for their fall meeting on October 20 from 9-5 in Byron, CA. The cost is $30 and includes lunch. Meeting Description: Grazing can benefit many California grassland plants and birds.