Test PB Collection: FTE

Ever seen a mob of tiny sweat bees? The bees below, from the genus Lasioglossum (as identified by native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis), just about flash-mobbed an Iceland poppy.

I have received an update from the Butte County Ag Commissioner's office regarding winged primrose willow. Germinating seedlings have been detected recently. At this point, the seedlings are very small and would be very difficult to notice.

Please save the date for the 2nd annual Do No Harm workshop focusing on 'Considerations for the use of non-local species in ecological restoration'. The event will be held in Davis, CA on November 15th 2016. For information and to register, go here: http://ucanr.

Possession is nine-tenths of the law. It also applies to bees foraging on lavender. A black-faced bumble bee (Bombus californicus) this morning stretched between two lavender stems and lingered there--probably to warm its wings for flight.

The preliminary agenda for the Aquatic Plant Management Society Annual Meeting, July 17-20 2016, has been posted on the APMS website at http://apms.org/annual-meeting/2016-annual-meeting/. The APMS annual meeting will be held at the Amway Grand Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I have been alerted of three instances where pyrethroid applications for TPS control have failed. One field had been treated with a pyrethroid two times, and TPS were still alive in great numbers.

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.