Vanessa Ashworth and Philippe Rolshausen, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California Riverside. Have you ever wondered where your favorite avocado variety came from? Not the nursery where it was purchased but the long, tortuous path that led to its selection.
Mosquitoes are in the news three-fold at the University of California, Davis. First, there's the upcoming free public event, the Zika Public Awareness Symposium, set Thursday, May 26 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Room 1001 of Giedt Hall.
He's racing through the lavender patch at breakneck speed, as if he's going to be charged with nectar robbing. The male Bombus vandykei, an engaging blond bumble bee, twists, turns and zig-zags through the long-stemmed lavender. There is no one in pursuit. Well, except for me and my trusty camera.
Sometimes the red flameskimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) will let you approach it. Sometimes it's having a bad hair day or a bad predator/prey day or a just-leave-me-alone day and won't let you near it. This one (below) let me approach it. "Hey," I told my new flame, "I'm not going to hurt you.
It's so blond that all you can say is "Wow!" It's sort of like the Reese Witherspoon of bumble bees. But then the gender doesn't match. Okay, the Owen Wilson of bumble bees.
The saga of the defensive honey bees--or what journalists labeled "aggressive" honey bees--in Concord continues. Although Extension apicuturist emeritus Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, retired in 2014 after 38 years of service, he continues his Extension work.
The macadamia is native to Australia and has been grown in California continuously since 1879 (Arpaia 1994). In addition to the commercial growers, macadamias make excellent back yard trees, are beautiful as landscaping, and can be grown in tubs on your patio.
The Washington Post, using data from Black Knight Financial Services, recently published an amazing series of maps showing disparities in the United States' housing recoveries.
UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is now taking online public comment and public ranking of proposals for new Cooperative Extension Specialists and County Advisor positions.