Ongoing research

It's rather troubling trying to rear subtropical butterflies, Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis vanillae), in late autumn. The string of warm sunny days in late November meant plenty of days for Gulf Frits to mate and reproduce.

Reposted (with permission) from the UC ANR blog Invasive Plants in Southern California Link to original post (December 6, 2013): Medusahead in San Diego County written by Carl Bell Medusahead [Elymus (Taeniatherum) caput-medusae] is a relatively new but serious invasive grass in San Diego County.

It's no secret that bugs often get a bad rap. Take the negative expression, "Bah, Humbug!" uttered by Ebenezer Scrooge, a Charles Dickens character. Now it seems that everyone who dislikes Christmas says it, with an emphasis on "bug.

If you have ever wondered why smoke rising during calm weather when there is a "ceiling", where there is warm air sitting on cold in an inversion, here is an explanation from our biometeorologist Rick Snyder at UC Davis. The smoke rises because the heated air is less dense than the surrounding air.

They're calling it "The December Event." Because that's what it is. It's an event held in December, specifically Saturday, Dec. 7 from noon to 3 p.m.

Courtesy of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis This creative project from GeoWiki seeks to get croudsourced feedback on crop types from participants around the world. They say: By 2050 we will need to feed more than 2 billion additional people on the Earth.

Private organizations and public agencies have done a great job of acquiring and preserving many thousands of acres of open space in Southern California as natural areas over the past few decades.

Various meetings planned Managing Ground Squirrels and Pocket Gophers Winter Cold and Irrigation During Drought Training Young Walnut Trees: Minimum Pruning vs No Pruning Compared Nitrogen Management Planning...

A bee sting can be sweet. Especially when the result is an auction item. Take the case of "The Sting," a memorable lunch-hour photo that went viral. Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen and I were walking through the apiary of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

For the first time since the great freeze of '89-90, we have experienced a little more than minor damage to our crops. Compared to the San Joaquin Valley, Ventura country escaped without major damage; although there were some areas harder hit like the Ojai Valley and some canyons near Santa Paula.