Ongoing research

Talk about a pollen-packing bumble bee. A yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, displayed quite a heavy load of orange pollen recently as it foraged on hairy vetch in the Hastings Preserve, Carmel, owned and operated by the University of California, Berkeley.

Who's that knocking on our front door? Actually, we didn't hear it knock. It appeared out of nowhere and climbed up to our doorbell. We gingerly placed the jumping spider, Phidippus audax, in a vial to transport it to our backyard bee garden. Phidippus audax, aka P.A.

The University of California Cooperative Extension Rice site (UC Rice On-line) has been updated with a new look and a lot of new information which we think you will find useful.

Ever heard of Schinia sueta? It's a moth. We spotted this little moth, from the Noctuidae family, in a meadow at the Hastings Preserve in Carmel in early May during the BugShot Macro Photography Course, taught by Alex Wild, John Abbott and Thomas Shahan.

It's almost time to celebrate! Or cele-bee-ate! In observation of National Pollinator Week, the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology has scheduled an open house at its half-acre bee garden, the Hagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven from 5:30 to 7 p..m., Friday, June 19.

Bootcamp participants outside historic Mulford HallOur bootcamp on Spatial Data Science has concluded. We had three packed days learning about the concepts, tools and workflow associated with spatial databases, analysis and visualizations.

You never know what you'll see in your pollinator garden. That's why it's always a good idea to carry a camera with you, or you might miss a bit of drama. Not in drama queens, but in drama kings.

Deformed and yellowing foliage of Indian laurel fig infested with the ficus eye-spot midge. Photo: Tracy Ellis. San Diego County entomologist, Tracy Ellis recently reported the occurrence of a small gall midge in Rancho Santa Fe and La Jolla.

Newly published research by a Michigan State University-led team indicates that one of the reasons why the varroa mite is so destructive is because it infiltrates hives by smelling like a bee. The parasitic mite, or Varroa destructor, is a "blood sucker" that feeds on bees.

From the Cooperative Extension Monterey County Crop Notes newsletter :: Mar-Apr 2015 The Apiaceae or carrot family includes important vegetable crops such as carrots, celery, cilantro, dill, fennel and parsley. All of these crops have a distinctive inflorescence known as an umbel.