Ongoing research

We're receiving lots of inquiries about sleepovers ever since we began posting images of male longhorned bees, Melissodes agilis, sleeping on our lavender. Boys' Night Out! While the females sleep in their underground nests, the males cluster on stems.

After a 30-year career as the farm advisor of subtropical fruit crops in San Diego County, I've decided to retire to do some other things, including some fishing. According to my wife, that seems to mean some painting, re-tiling the floor, re-landscaping and cabinet work.

The risks of GMO herbicide-resistant crops as a source for resistance traits in weeds has garnered recent attention in discussions of so-called superweeds. [I've commented previously on my general disagreement with the term "superweed" when talking about herbicide resistance].

Bumble bees and spiders don't mix, you say? Well, they will at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, July 26. The family-centered event, free and open to the public, takes place in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.

Here's an article by Paul Franson | Wines & Vines | 07.22.2014 Napa, Calif.Last week John Roncoroni, a Napa County UC Cooperative Extension weed science advisor, held a field demonstration about the efficacy of herbicides newly registered for vineyard application.

There's something about seeing a butterfly that makes your eyes light up, your smile widen, and your feet feel like skipping. Nature's joy.

It's National Moth Week! The event, which runs through Sunday, celebrates "the beauty, life cycles, and habitats of moths," according to its website. Scientists and citizen scientists are encouraged to document their findings. It's now a worldwide event.

From the Fresno State website Jul 18, 2014 by Tom Uribes A team of three Fresno State plant science students took first place in the weed identification category at the 58th annual Weed Day seminar hosted by University of California, Davis.

Odds are that Justin Timberlake won't be there. Neither will J. K. Rowling, author of the wildly popular Harry Potter series of books. They hate spiders. In fact, by all accounts, they have arachnophobia, an intense fear of spiders that affects some 3.5 to 6.1 percent of the U.S. population.

University of California Cooperative Extension Intra Row Weeding Machine Demonstration Wednesday, July 23, 2014 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. USDA East Alisal Research Station 1636 East Alisal Road (follow signs) The area of mechanical weed control is developing rapidly in Europe.