Ongoing research

Honey bee guru Eric Mussen is retired but the "R" word isn't stopping him. Mussen, who served 38 years as California's Extension apiculturist, based at the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, has changed the "R" word into a "K" word. "K" for keynote speaker.

The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation issued news today that is both disturbing and hopeful. Disturbing in that the monarch butterfly population (Danaus plexippus) has declined by more than 90 percent in under 20 years.

Club Meetings begin, 4-H Council Meeting, New Leader Orientation, Primary 4-H Camp, Scholarship Workshop, Changes in the UCCE 4-H Office...

Are you on a winning streak? Or a losing streak? Or somewhere in between? The Gray Hairstreak butterfly (Strymon melinus) is always on a streak--a gray streak.

I have had the pleasure to conduct a variety of experiments, watch numerous management talks and take many classes on the scientific method. During these adventures I've noticed that people seem to misunderstand (or not comprehend the full power of) replication.

From Live EarthquakesWe felt the 6.1 quake here in Berkeley as a long, rolling, continual shimmy. Up in Napa it was considerably more than that. Lots of news about lost wine etc.

Our buddy, the resident praying mantis, appears to be in perfect form. Crouched beneath the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia), he glistens in the early morning light, as honey bees, long-horned bees, Gulf Fritillary butterflies and fiery skippers search for food.

With the drought our perpetual salt problems are exacerbated due to less water and often more saline water. The question keeps coming up if gypsum (calcium sulfate) can help correct the problem. And the answer is maybe, but along the coast, probably not.

Bee food. That's what the globe artichoke is. Bee food. Many of us let our artichokes flower, not because we don't like the vegetable, but because we like bees better.

The annual Rice Field Day will be Wednesday, August 27, 2014, at the Rice Experiment Station (RES), Biggs, California. You and your associates are cordially invited to join us to observe and discuss research in progress at RES.